WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire

Two Department of Defense contractors were arrested in New York City on Jan. 6, 2008, and charged with conspiring to steal information relating to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contracts to supply fuel to DOD aircraft worldwide, the Department of Justice
announced today. Two contractor firms and a third individual are also charged
with participating in the conspiracies.

In a three-count indictment returned on Dec. 5, 2007, and unsealed today in
U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Christopher Cartwright and Paul Wilkinson
were charged for their roles in the conspiracies. Along with Cartwright and
Wilkinson, two affiliated companies -- Prague, Czech Republic-based Far East
Russia Aircraft Services Inc. (FERAS) and the Isle of Man-based Aerocontrol
LTD -- were also charged in the indictment. FERAS also has an office in
Houston. Cartwright and Wilkinson are U.S. citizens who have been living in
Prague. A separate charge was filed today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore
against a third individual, Matthew Bittenbender, alleging the same criminal
conduct. Bittenbender resides in Baltimore. The Department said the
conspiracies took place from about February 2005 to about July 2006.