Bush Uncle Profits From Contractor

(AP)  President Bush's uncle made more than $450,000 last month by selling stock in a defense contractor whose profits are growing because of the Iraq war, records show.

William H.T. Bush made the money by exercising stock options in St. Louis-based Engineered Support Systems, Inc. Bush is a member of ESSI's board of directors and therefore had to report the sale to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bush, the youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, did not return a telephone message seeking comment Wednesday afternoon. He told the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the stock sale Wednesday, he had not pulled any strings in Washington for the company.

ESSI on Tuesday reported record income of $20.6 million for the three months ending Jan. 31, a 31 percent increase.

The company said the expansion came mainly from increases in ESSI's military contracts. Those include adding armor to military trucks, refurbishing trailers the Army uses to haul tanks, and supporting satellite communications for troops in war zones, ESSI CEO Gerald Potthoff said in a statement.

Bush cashed in stock options on Jan. 20, weeks before the company's latest earnings report. SEC documents show he sold 8,438 shares of ESSI stock at a profit of $53.36 a share. That's a total profit of $450,251.68.

Bush wasn't the only ESSI official to cash in on the company's rising stock price. Five other officers or directors of the company have sold stock so far this year, SEC records show, with two of them profiting less than Bush and three making more. The biggest windfall went to Gary C. Gerhardt, the company's vice chairman and chief financial officer, who made nearly $7.5 million from selling stock on Jan. 31.

The Pentagon's inspector general is investigating whether an ESSI subsidiary improperly got a contract to make equipment from the Air Force. That contract was overseen by Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force contracting official serving a nine-month prison term for contract fraud involving Boeing.



By Matt Kelley