A.C. Kotchian, Lockheed chief
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A. Carl Kotchian, 94, a former head of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. who admitted in the 1970s to paying millions in bribes in an international scandal that brought down Japan's prime minister, has died.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A. Carl Kotchian, 94, a former head of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. who admitted in the 1970s to paying millions in bribes in an international scandal that brought down Japan's prime minister, has died.
Mr. Kotchian died Dec. 14 at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, Calif., of age-related ailments, said his son, Robert Kotchian.
Mr. Kotchian's testimony before the Senate in 1976 sparked laws that prohibited U.S. companies from giving kickbacks abroad. Resulting investigations led to imprisonment of Japan's prime minister and upheaval in the Netherlands, Colombia, Italy and West Germany.
Lockheed was at the center of the bribery scandal, but ultimately upward of 400 U.S. companies acknowledged paying foreign officials more than $700 million - a sum worth $2.5 billion today.