TAMPA BAY 32. Qe Friday, July 17,2008, | 18 Young pulls Gonax support The US. representative's move is in reaction to Wednesday’s raid by federal agents. Times Sey Wrens ST, PETERSBURG ~ With ‘questions svirling a day after the federal aid of Conax Frida (Corp, US. Rep. CW. Bil Young. ‘on Tharsday withdrev support fora $4 miblon funding request ‘for thedeferse contractor. “The move puts some distance between Conax and Young, who ‘nas socured $28.5 milion in fet ‘eral earmarks” for the company ‘snc: 2008. ‘Young’ spokesmaa saidhe dit not pursue the money duting = key budget hearing in Washing- ton because ofthe investigation, the scope and nature of which remain urelear “They decided they would sce what develops with what (investigators) are looking at” syokesnan Harry Gens said. ‘Conax was open for business ‘Thursday, one day after fed cra agents raided its St Peters. barg complex oa 75th Steet 1N-On Wednesday, agents with ‘the Defense Criminal Invest ‘ative Service and several Agencies searched the building and carried out boxes and fles. ‘They would not comment on ‘what prompted the raid or what theyfound. ‘the US. government the state ‘of Gibharn LifeSupport Systems, Te went onto cay that he com: {sa division of British defense pany is cooperating fully and fimCobham. Cobham released that the investigation could tke specifications, manufacture and tensioning” restraint system ‘origin of parte used in the man- for Air Fores alerat platforms. ‘facture ef products supplied t See CONAY. 9B» CONAX continued from 1B Young pulls his support Conax produces life-support and personal-survival equipment for the military and NASA. Last ‘year, it generated $96 million in revenue, representing just more than 3 percent of Cobham total revenue. ‘Young is the ranking Repub- lican on the House Defense Appropriations Committee, ‘which met in private Thursday morning to work out details for the 2010 budget. His out would have almost certainly ensured inclusion of the request, which he supported, had it not been for the investigation. Young told the St. Petersburg ‘Times on Wednesday that he was ‘not sure what authorities were ooking for but that the company Thad performed well in the past. Products created for the gov- ernment have to follow strict ‘specifications that are identified uring the bidding process and then spelled out in a contract. Ifa contractor supplies a prod- uct such as a computer that fails to meet one of the requirements like having 10 chips instead of a dozen, it doesn’t automatically trigger a federal raid, said for- mer Tampa defense contractor Robert Castro. The government ‘could just alert the seller and tell it to correct the mistake before Jegalaction is taken, he said. In the Conax investigation, based on the number of agencies involved, “it leads one to believe that this is something far more serious than just an oversight,” Castro said. ‘American Data & Computer Products, Castro's now-defunct company, went out of business because of a debacle involving what Castro believes to be coun- terfeit switches installed in sev- eral US. submarines. “It's one thing to counterfeit’ DVD or purse in New York's Chi- natown? he said, “Its a different ‘thing when you have something counterfeited being installed in sensitive operational equip- ment” Ifa company didn’t recognize it was dealing with counterfeit parts, then sometimes it can get off the hook, said lawyer David Sugden, who deals with copy- right and counterfeiting issues as the managing partner for Call, Jensen & Ferrell in Southern Cal- ‘ifomia. “Ifthe governmeist concludes . that the company was acting in good faith, and they did not ‘know, the government may sim: ply require them to replace the counterfeit goods with genuine goods, and perhaps the matter will end there.” he said. However, Sugden pointed ‘out, when it comes to counter- felt products that affect safety, it ‘could become abigger deal. “If we have a company that is manufacturing vehicles such as airplanes; and there are counter- feit products, it puts into ques- tion the entire integrity of the product) he said. Contractors who work with the military have to adhere to ‘contracts but also follow.a strict set of guidelines called the Fed- eral Acquisition Regulation, which are issued by the General Services, : Nicole Norfleet can be reached cat nnorfleet@sptimes.omor (727) 885-8786.