Opinion ID: 427194
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Parties' Theories of the Case

Text: 11 At trial, the government focused its proof primarily on its allegation that Interconex overcharged Raytheon for shipping. The government's theory was that Interconex was able to submit a lower bid than its competitors because of contract specification information that Lemire provided it well in advance of the bidding. 5 This information enabled Interconex to calculate its rate based on knowledge that it could charter an entire vessel to ship the housing, rather than booking shipments with a common carrier. The government contended that this knowledge allowed Interconex to achieve inflated profits while still submitting the lowest bid. These excess profits were then divided among Carver, Lemire, Stephens and Achuck. It also argued that even if Interconex's shipping rate was not inflated in comparison to other bids and the Waterman Steamship rate, the scheme prevented Raytheon from saving money by chartering a boat itself, for the first three voyages. The government claims that Raytheon's agreement with Waterman was not an exclusive contract and covered small shipments only; thus it did not preclude Raytheon from chartering its own boat. 12 The defense denied that Lemire gave Interconex any advance information. It claimed that had Lemire not included shipping as part of the contract, Raytheon would have paid $164.50 per ton for shipping at the Waterman rate. Thus, Lemire was acting in Raytheon's best interest in including the shipping as part of the housing contract and in awarding the contract to IMS. Moreover, the defense argued that Lemire did not deny Raytheon the opportunity to charter its own boat. Lemire testified that he would never have considered chartering a vessel because he was not free to make such arrangements, believing he had to use Waterman. He pointed out that Raytheon had never before chartered its own boat. 13 The defense explained the transfer of funds from GH to Carver and Lemire as independent of the award of the IMS contract. Lemire testified that he did not know that GH was the source of the funds, and in fact that he did not know of GH's existence until the government investigation preceding the indictment. The defense contended that the funds were Stephen's and Achuck's capital investment for an independent joint venture by Carver, Lemire, Stephens and Achuck to build a modular housing factory in Saudi Arabia. Thus, Lemire denies having gotten a kickback from Interconex for aiding them in getting the shipping contract.