Some Documents in Procurement Fraud Case Destroyed, Judge Told

NEW YORK — Prosecutors in the Pentagon bribery and fraud investigation have learned of several instances of documents being destroyed by people implicated in the probe, according to court papers released Wednesday.

The information was contained in a brief from the office of Henry E. Hudson, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Va., to a federal judge in Brooklyn whom the Long Island newspaper Newsday has asked to unseal certain documents.

“In the short time since the execution of the search warrants became public, the government has already become aware of several incidents of destruction of documents related to this case,” Hudson said in arguing against unsealing the documents.

Hudson, chief prosecutor in the Pentagon investigation, provided no details of who destroyed documents, how they were destroyed or how they might have been related to the probe.

In an affidavit attached to Hudson’s brief, Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Aronica said prosecutors had learned of “two incidents of document destruction by persons who are implicated in the investigation which, in two separate instances, required the securing of premises to prevent further destruction and the emerging application for search warrants.”

Newsday is seeking access to sealed records of search warrants and supporting affidavits executed by Andrew Maloney, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as part of the larger investigation of military contract procurement.

Hudson said disclosure of the documents would jeopardize the probe.