Ex-Boeing employee to plead guilty to copter sabotage, lawyer says

A former Boeing Co. assembly-line worker from Bucks County will plead guilty to sabotaging a $24 million Army helicopter in May by severing a bundle of electrical wires, according to his lawyer.

Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid yesterday formally charged Matthew Montgomery, 33, of Trevose, with a felony count of damaging government property. He was arrested about a week after the May 10 incident.

"This case is not about mere vandalism," Magid said. "It involves damage to property that is vital to our military. Any action that delays delivery of materiel or that endangers the integrity of Army aircraft affects the safety of the men and women who are serving our country, and will not be tolerated."

Public defender Maranna Meehan said that Montgomery is "very remorseful" and will plead guilty to the crime, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Authorities say that Montgomery, who had worked at Boeing's Ridley Township plant since September 2006, hacked apart a two-inch bundle of more than 150 electrical wires that ran to the cockpit of the CH-47F Chinook, disabling its avionics and flight-control systems.

Boeing spent more than $100,000 to repair the nearly complete dual-rotor transport helicopter, according to Magid.

Then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said on the day of Montgomery's arrest that he might have cut the wires because he was upset about being transferred to another job at the rotorcraft plant.

"Fortunately, this senseless act of vandalism was discovered quickly and no physical harm occurred to personnel as a result," said Ed Bradley, special agent in charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. "However, the potential threat to safety from such acts is serious, and therefore such cases must be aggressively investigated and prosecuted."

DCIS is investigating another act of vandalism that Boeing discovered the same day as it did the severed wires - an improper washer was deliberately placed into the transmission of a second Chinook.

Montgomery is not considered a suspect in that vandalism, and his attorney said yesterday that his client had "absolutely no involvement whatsoever" with that incident.

Boeing is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for sabotaging the Chinook transmission; DCIS is offering an additional $5,000. Tipsters should call 267-228-2782.