4 plead guilty to taking part in Boeing Co. kickback scheme

LOS ANGELES — Four Central and Southern California men have pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to win contracts from a Boeing Co. subsidiary that supplied satellites to NASA, the Air Force and other agencies.

Two other men also face charges.

Federal prosecutors allege that a sheet metal fabricating company in the San Gabriel Valley paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to a procurement officer for Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems in El Segundo.

In return, Mark Allen, of Fresno, allegedly awarded $4.5 million in purchase orders to A&A Fabrication and Polishing and a front company.

Allen and three others have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

An A&A vice president pleaded not guilty Monday, and a sixth man has a pending court appearance on conspiracy and tax fraud charges.