How Boeing Got Gov't Business

A few weeks back, Boeing was in the news because its CEO resigned after having an affair with a female executive. The irony was that Harry Stonecipher--sounds like the protagonist of a shitty '60s novel--had been brought in to clean up Boeing's image after, er, certain big-time ethical lapses in business practice.

To wit, this story in the Washington Times about how the Pentagon has taken away the Air Force's ability "to oversee 21 major [weapons] programs with a combined value of $200 billion," which mentions how Boeing actually swung government contracts:

It also comes in the wake of the Air Force's handling of a multibillion-dollar Boeing aircraft lease deal that collapsed last year and led to the conviction of former Air Force executive Darleen Druyun on charges of conspiring to violate conflict-of-interest rules.

Druyun admitted in court that she favored Boeing on deals worth billions of dollars because the company gave jobs to her daughter and son-in-law. Her admission led to a detailed Pentagon review of her nearly 10-year tenure as a key weapons buyer for the Air Force and prompted rival defense companies to file protests over Boeing contracts awarded during that period.

Whole thing here.