FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1997                        (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
   OHIO FIRM PAYS U.S. $500,000 TO SETTLE BID-RIGGING CLAIMS
                                
     WASHINGTON, D.C.--  A Springboro, Ohio, firm will pay the
United States $500,000 to settle civil claims it conspired to rig
bids for subcontracts at the Milan, Tennessee, Army ammunition
plant, the Department of Justice announced today.

      Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger in charge of the
Civil Division said Gayston Corporation also will forfeit an
additional $500,000 it received through the illegal scheme.
   
     Gayston, which is the sixth defendant to settle with the
government in the case, pleaded guilty to two counts of
conspiracy to defraud the United States and money laundering, 

     "Today's settlement should serve as a warning to all firms
who hold federal contracts that the Department is determined to
seek out and prosecute all those who attempt to defraud the
United States," Hunger said.

     According to the Department, Gayston conspired with
Frederick Isaacs, a manufacturer's representative, and Bobby Joe
Vasquez and Carl Bryant, former employees of Lockheed Martin, to
control through a cartel the awarding of subcontracts for
machined parts. 

     The subcontracts were awarded by Lockheed Martin, the prime
contractor of the government-owned facility.  Lockheed Martin no
longer holds that contract.
  
     The government learned about the illegal operation through
an undercover investigation code-named "Operation Ammo Box,"
which was conducted by the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigation
Service, Internal Revenue Service and Army CID. 

     The operation has resulted in six guilty pleas, including
Gayston; Gayston's vice president, John Cobb; Isaacs; Vasquez;
Bryant; and Richard Huntley, the president of Huntley Industries
Inc. of Monroe, North Carolina.  

     Under the settlement, Gayston also must absorb all of its
expenses, including legal and accounting costs incurred in this
matter.
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96-051