A shop supervisor for Aircraft Transparencies Repair (ATR) and Transparencies Engineering Group (TEG) is the latest employee convicted in a trial stemming from an aircraft parts conspiracy. Dennis Romero was convicted in U.S. District Court, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for his participation in the conspiracy. The same jury acquitted three lower-level ATR mechanics and a salesperson. A separate mechanic, Hermes Reyes, pleaded guilty before the start of the trial.

The conviction is the latest in an ongoing investigation that began last March as a multi-count indictment filed against 16 employees of ATR and TEG for conspiracy to sell and falsely certify to commercial aviation customers the airworthiness of aircraft cockpit windows.

The investigation revealed that from approximately August 2009 to August 2010 ATR’s employees continued repairing aircraft cockpit windows despite the fact that the FAA had revoked the company’s repair station certificate in July 2009. As part of the scheme, ATR/TEG purchased “as removed” aircraft cockpit windows on the open market and backdated documents, to make it appear to the customer that the windows had been retrieved from their inventory before the repair station certificate revocation. In addition, serial numbers on the windows sent to ATR by customers were changed to make it appear that all work had been done before the certificate revocation.

Employees of the Hialeah, Fla.-based company were charged with conspiracy to sell and falsely certify to commercial aviation customers the airworthiness of aircraft cockpit windows using FAA Form 8130-3 Authorized Release Certificates, work orders and traceability documentation knowing that they were not authorized by the FAA to certify the airworthiness of these windows.

Several attempts by AIN to contact the company and individuals involved have been unsuccessful.