Former Jet Air Owner Convicted of Engine Parts Fraud

George T. Straza, the former owner of Jet Air Inc. of El Cajon, was convicted Friday of defrauding a jet-engine manufacturer under government contract by double-dealing in engine parts.

A federal jury deliberated three days before delivering the guilty verdicts against Straza, 58, of Rancho Santa Fe, on 43 counts of conspiracy, theft of government property, mail fraud and issuing false invoices. It was the second time in three years that Straza was convicted of fraud in connection with government contract work.

The federal jury also convicted Jet Air corporate secretary Alice Skinner, 57, of Lakeside on 20 similar fraud counts.

Jurors, however, acquitted Joao Jaime Costa, Jet Air’s 50-year-old former vice president and general manager, on 20 fraud counts.

Motion for New Trial Planned

None of the defendants would comment after the verdicts came in. Straza’s attorney--Howard Weitzman, who headed the successful defense of auto maker John DeLorean of cocaine charges--would only say that a motion would be filed to request a new trial for Straza and Skinner.

The three were charged with defrauding Pratt & Whitney, a government contractor, by charging the company for 90 jet engine burner cans that, in fact, Jet Air sold to Aerospace Innovators Ltd. of Manhattan Beach. They were also accused of mail fraud for allegedly sending Pratt & Whitney false billings, and of using unauthorized blueprints.

The scheme, prosecutors said during the trial, netted Straza and the others $239,000 in personal profit. The ultimate destination of the parts, used in the A-4 Skyhawk and A-4 Intruder fighter planes, is still under investigation, government officials say.

The verdicts represented Straza’s second conviction on fraud charges. In May, 1984, he pleaded guilty to making false statements to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in connection with a $2.4-million contract to manufacture parts for the space shuttle.

Under a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, Straza agreed to serve six months in prison and reimburse NASA $690,000. The space agency subsequently barred Straza personally from obtaining further contracts, but allowed Jet Air to continue as a contractor as long as Straza would limit his ties to the company to that of a consultant.

In Straza’s second trial, Assistant U.S. Atty. George Hardy said that the verdicts rendered Friday sent a message that federal prosecutors and the U.S. Dept. of Justice “are going to come down hard on government contract fraud. It’s a policy.”

“To me, it was a clear-cut case where you had (defendants) taking property that didn’t belong to them and reselling it for a profit,” said Hardy.

Michael Pancer, Costa’s attorney, declined to say Friday why he thought his client was acquitted and the others found guilty.

13-Month Probe

“I thought it was a very weak government case, and the jury saw likewise,” Pancer said. “They just didn’t have the evidence” to convict Costa.

Added Hardy: “The way it came in, there was some doubt about (Costa’s) involvement. During a trial, some things happen differently than (a prosecutor) plans, and I can see how the jury had doubts about his guilt.”

The trial against Straza and two Jet Air employees spun out of a 13-month investigation by the Air Force and Defense Department.

Straza and Jet Air have ties to San Diego-area politicians. James R. Mills, former state Senate president pro tem, became Jet Air president in 1985, and his predecessor as company president was Rep. Bob Wilson of San Diego.

In addition, Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) has rented a Jet Air condominium during visits from Washington. Both Lowery and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado) have reportedly interceded with federal officials in the company’s behalf.