Posted: Fri, Jul 18, 2003, 11:15 AM ET (1515 GMT)
Boeing announced Thursday that it has hired a former US Senator to conduct an independent review of the company's ethics policies even as word of another lawsuit about unethical practices at the company's space unit leaked out. Boeing said that Warren Rudman, a former senator from New Hampshire and currently a partner in a Washington law firm, will lead the investigation into the company's practices and procedures. The review is expected to take 60 to 90 days to complete, although the company said it valued thoroughness over schedule. Boeing officials have maintained that allegations that company employees used proprietary Lockheed Martin documents when preparing a bid for US Air Force launch contracts in the late 1990s was an isolated incident. However, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post both reported Friday that a former employee has filed suit against Boeing, claiming that he was fired when he reported that another Boeing employee has used Lockheed documents when preparing bids for commercial satellite contracts in late 2000 and early 2001. The lawsuit was filed a 18 months ago but only recently came to light because of the other alleged ethical violations at Boeing.

Related Links:

•  Wall Street Journal article (subscription required)
•  Dow Jones Newswires article
•  Washington Post article
•  Reuters article
•  Boeing press release