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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Inspector General
Washington, D.C. 20546

April 1, 2003

RELEASE 2003-027: AIRCRAFT PARTS COMPANY AND PRESIDENT SENTENCED FOR 
MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME

 On March 17, 2003, RTS Services, Inc., of Fort Worth, TX and 
President, Roger T. Sickler, were sentenced in U.S. District Court, 
Northern District of Texas, for their convictions in an illegal 
kickback scheme.  RTS Services, an aircraft parts broker, was
sentenced to three years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay
restitution of $251,862 and a special assessment of $1,200 for its
conviction on one count each of Conspiracy, Wire Fraud and Money
Laundering.  Sickler was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by
three years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay restitution
of $251,862 and a special assessment of $100 for his conviction on
one count of Money Laundering.

RTS Services and Sickler were convicted on September 20, 2002, after
a jury trial in Fort Worth.  RTS Services and Sickler had engaged in
a scheme to pay illegal kickbacks to Marshall Bryant, an employee of
Kollsman, Inc. in New Hampshire, and his wife, Helen Myra Bryant.
The kickbacks were paid in return for aircraft parts repair business
that the Bryants directed Kollsman, Inc. to send to RTS Services.
The RTS Services' repair work included government contracts with the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Navy, the
U.S. Air Force, and the Department of Transportation.

Marshall Bryant and Helen Myra Bryant were previously convicted and 
sentenced for their roles in the scheme.

Special Agents from the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Defense 
Criminal Investigative Service, the Internal Revenue Services
Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General
conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney
Frederick Schattman, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas,
handled the prosecution. 

For more information on this release, please contact Joseph Kroener, 
Acting Executive Officer, NASA Office of Inspector General, at (202) 
358-2558.

Previous Releases:

2001-066, 5/08/2001 – Aircraft Parts Contractor Indicted

2002-066, 5/20/02 - Former NASA Contractor Employee Arrested for 
Kickbacks and Theft

2003-014, 12/12/02 - Aircraft Parts Supplier Sentenced for Tax 
Violations
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/press/pr2003-014.html

2003-018, 1/30/03 - Aircraft Repair Station Manager and Wife
Sentenced in Aircraft Parts Scheme
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/press/pr2003-018.html

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Report Crime, Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement to the NASA OIG
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