June 7, 2004
Lawsuits Put Military Contractor on Defensive
The San Diego-based Titan Corp. is embroiled in allegations that include bribery.
By Paul Pringle, Times Staff Writer
Titan Corp. is big on secrecy. Some say too big.
The San Diego-based defense contractor is prized in industry circles for its large roster of workers with security clearances, folks entrusted to keep mum.
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Lately, Titan finds itself with extra incentive to button lips. The 12,000-employee, information-technology company is entangled in controversies over the suspected bribery of foreign officials and a report placing one of its Arab-language translators at the scene of prisoner abuses in Iraq.
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The suits note that Lockheed lowered its merger bid by $160 million after an internal audit of Titan triggered the bribery inquiries.
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Meanwhile, Titan's business in Iraq has heightened the debate over the Pentagon's increasing dependence on contractors for sensitive and often dangerous missions. To date, the only direct Titan connection to the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison is an employee, Adel Nakhla, who was named in Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba's report on the mistreatment of detainees. Nakhla translated for military police officers implicated in the abuses, according to the report.
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