Newport undersea warfare center loses contracting rights

THE parent of the Naval Underwater Warfare Center in Newport has stripped the center of its contracting authority in the wake of a criminal probe. /
THE parent of the Naval Underwater Warfare Center in Newport has stripped the center of its contracting authority in the wake of a criminal probe. /

(Updated, 10:15 a.m.)

NEWPORT – The parent of the Naval Underwater Warfare Center in Newport has stripped the center of its contracting authority in the wake of a criminal probe.
The center’s parent, the Naval Sea Systems Command, said the suspension “was necessary due to lapses in the technical and requirements communities to sufficiently describe work ordered, effectively account for work ordered and received, and to provide proper surveillance and oversight of that work.”
The statement, issued on Tuesday, appeared to be a reference to an alleged scheme by a contracting agent and the owner of a Middletown defense contractor that funneled more than $9 million into shell companies that never performed the promised work.
In February, the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island alleged that Ralph Mariano, 52, a program manager, and Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 58, head of the now defunct Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, conspired to bilk millions of dollars from the contracting system. Dutta-Gupta is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to bribing a public official, according to the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island.
The abrupt closure of his company with offices in Middletown left 100 people without jobs and sent shockwaves through the defense industry on Aquidneck Island.
The underwater warfare center is a major piece of the local defense industry. In February, the U.S. Navy said that last year the center spent more than $668 million on payroll, construction, facility support and local contracts. The center also awarded $534 million in contracts. Of that, Rhode Island-based businesses received $317 million. It is unclear if some of those contracts are now being investigated as fraudulent.
On Wednesday, Jody Sullivan, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, said the Navy’s actions would likely slow down the contracting process for local companies.
Chamber members have told her that their defense contacts are cautioning that contracts now may take six to eight weeks to approve. Before, the turnaround was much shorter.
“It’s a new way they’ll do business and I think that it’s just a learning curve,” Sullivan said.
Updated with comment from the Newport County Chamber of Commerce

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