The Nation - News from March 12, 1989

A company in Hopkins, Minn., that markets weapons systems to the U.S. government and more than 60 other countries has agreed to plead guilty to bribing foreign officials and will pay $1 million in penalties. No charges have been filed in the case, but officials of The Venturian Corp. said the company’s lawyers had made a plea agreement late last week with federal prosecutors after a 1 1/2-year grand jury investigation. The grand jury is continuing its inquiry and could indict officials of the company, which markets a wide range of weapons systems including armed patrol boats and accessories for the M-16 family of military rifles. Venturian officials acknowledged in a statement that the plea agreement could bar the firm from receiving defense contracts and strip it of export privileges.