Former Boeing CFO might face prison in procurement scandal

Justice Department prosecutors are recommending up to six months in prison for Boeing Co.'s former chief financial officer, Michael Sears, for violating conflict-of-interest of laws in recruiting former Air Force acquisition official Darleen Druyun, according to a sentencing memo from the U.S. Attorney's office in Alexandria, Va., obtained by CongressDaily.

According to the document, Justice argued alternatives to imprisonment would do little to deter "such illegal conduct in the future by companies and their senior management."

Prosecutors noted in the filing that steep fines would have "little real impact" on Sears' financial resources and that home confinement "would be no real punishment given his residence," which the document said is valued at nearly $5 million.

Druyun was sentenced to nine months in prison last October for her role. Both Druyun and Sears admitted to violating conflict-of-interest laws by discussing the prospect of Druyun's employment at Boeing, a major Air Force contractor, while she was still overseeing about $30 billion in Air Force contracts.

The document, filed in federal district court, also raised the question of whether Boeing's senior executives could have done more to probe the Sears-Druyun relationship before she was hired.

"The senior management of Boeing did not confront the obvious legal and ethical issues presented by these employment negotiations," the document states.