Report Concludes Marine Aircraft Records Falsified

JUNE 29, 2001 -- -- A Marine Corps commanding officer ordered the falsification of important records on the controversial V-22 Osprey aircraft program, a Pentagon investigation found.

A small number of less senior officers knew of the falsifications and took no action to correct them, the report from the Pentagon inspector general's office said.

Moreover, the investigation found the commanding officer, Lt. Col. O. Fred Leberman, former commander of the Marines' only V-22 squadron, perceived pressure from his superiors to order the falsifications.

But investigators say they found no evidence Leberman's superiors directed or suggested he do so, after conducting hundreds of interviews and reviewing thousands of documents and more than 200,000 e-mails.

Leberman was relieved of duty and faces possible criminal charges.

The report's findings were described to ABCNEWS in an advance summary. The actual report and its detailed accounting of the evidence are expected to be provided to the Marine Corps in mid-July.

In unusually strong language in January, the senior Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., warned the Osprey program would be held back in Congress unless the Pentagon initiated the investigation independent of the Navy.

"[T]his program will not be able to move forward unless and until the Defense Department has restored confidence in the integrity of the V-22 program and the people managing it," they wrote Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones ordered the inspector general assessment.

Important Mass Production Decision

Last December, Marine Corps investigators found evidence Leberman had ordered the falsification of maintenance and readiness records. The changes allegedly had the effect of making the aircraft appear to hold up better to everyday wear and tear.

A tip from one of Leberman's subordinates prompted the investigation. Evidence included a tape recording that suggested Leberman ordered the records falsified and told his juniors to lie about the plane until the Navy decided to begin mass-producing it.