aero-farm.com: Raytheon Rigged FAA Bid

aero-farm.com: Raytheon Rigged FAA Bid

By Barbara Leonard Courthouse News Service February 1, 2010

WASHINGTON (CN) - A high-ranking official at the Federal Aviation Administration conspired with her boyfriend to ensure that his employer, Raytheon, won a billion-dollar contract to train the nation's air traffic controllers, according to a complaint in Superior Court. The Washington Consulting Group claims it was unfairly ousted from the competitive bid, which it had held since 1986.

Charles Keegan, who left a high-level position with the FAA to work as a project manager at Raytheon Technical Services in 2006, used an "unfair competitive advantage" to win the contract, according to the complaint.

Washington Consulting claims Keegan was having "a romantic affair" with another FAA official, Maureen Knopes-Keegan, whom he married in August 2007.

Washington Consulting claims the two hatched a scheme to discourage other companies from bidding on the lucrative contract, though Washington Consulting Group claims its trainers have shaped the U.S. air traffic control system into "the safest in the world."