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‘ Firms Tied to Murtha Have Tronbled Past - washingtonpost.com Page | of 3 Sign In | Register Now The Washington Post ae" A fast and easy way to... Beat the heat. Advectisament NEWS | POLITICS | CLASSIFIEDS \ SEARCH: G} © wastingtonpost.com CO Web ; Resuks by Google” | Search Archives Cv ym. G . washingtonpost.com > Politics Political Browser: The Post's Daity Guide to Politics on the Wab MORE » Advertisement + Your Ad Here Firms Tied to Murtha Have Troubled Past Companies Under Investigation Have Gotten Millions in Earmarks By Carol D, Legnnig and Alice Crites : Washington Post Staff Writers SLIDESHOW Previous Next Friday, June 5, 2009 CROYLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Inside the LBK Ranch, a private game preserve on a scenic hilltop here, guests mingle at a stone lodge after hunting deer and wild boar. Signs posted at intervals along the fence warn: "No Trespassing: U.S. Govt. Testing Facility." Defense firm owner Bill Kuchera and his wife, Lena, the owners of the 161-acre property, live in an upscale iog home within the preserve and go to extensive efforts A booth for the Kuchera companies is part of the Showcase for to keep out strangers. There are no Commerce trade show in Johnstown, Pa. Bill Kuchera is al the far right. oe rf . (By Gene J Puskar — Associated Press) visible signs of government (Sting, guys EET but behind the 10-foot fence and electronic gate lies the answer to a politically sensitive TOOLBOX question now under federal scrutiny: whether Kuchera's Efi resize Print E-mall companies padded their Pentagon billings and diverted Yahoo! Buzz taxpayer money to their own pet projects. comment ® In January, federal agents raided the ranch, along with the homes of Bill Kuchera and his younger brother Ron = Comments and the offices of two Kuchera companies. Federal COMMENTS ARE CLOSED authorities are investigating tips from company insiders suggesting that taxpayers were billed improperly for WHO'S BLOGGING pomcedby sphere | ‘ Kuchera family expenses and ranch renovations, » Links to this articte according to sources familiar with the probc. Tens of millions of doilars in Defense Department contracts have flowed to Kuchera's companies Find Your Dream Job Now! because of the Jocal congressman, Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha, the chairman of the - House Appropriations defense subcommittee. The Navy recently suspended the company [keywords —__| [location —_] from future contracts while the investigation proceeds. Murtha, who was celebrated at the LBK Ranch with a fundraiser held in his honor, last week Jobs by Simplyiiired sidestepped questions about $50 million in earmarked funds and contracts he has helped FEATURED ADVERTISER LINKS direct to Kuchera Defense Systems and Kuchera Industries Inc. since 2001. But newly obtained documents and interviews show that the current federal investigation is only the latest chapter in the troubled history of the Kuchera brothers’ business ventures. Lawysr: Asbestos Lung Cancer, Hydroxycut, Raptive Mesothalioma Lawyer, Construction, Zimmer Durom Hip Save Up To 75% On Cruises at Vacations To Go The Kucheras have a complicated family history that involves drug-running and a family Get your complete credit history from all three major credit feud that left the brothers in control of the companics. Over time they became affluent and agencies respected defense contractors in their home town near Johnstown, Pa. 3 Stocks to Help Rebulld Your Wealth-Click Here! Before Bill Kuchera produced electronics and robotic equipment for the Pentagon, he helped run thousands of pounds of marijuana and some cocaine from Miami to sell in Racine, Wis., according to criminal records and accounts of others involved in the drug operation. Bill Kuchera pleaded guilty to a single and lesser felony distribution charge in 1982 after “YY cooperating witnesses implicated other Kuchera family members in helping store drugs at the LA Pe Le . TT). SZ 3 - g 2 family home, Ron Kuchera and the boys' parents were never prosecuted. b6 b7C http://www. washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060404556.ht... 6/8/2009 A