Munitions Manufacturer Accused of Selling Faulty Grenades

Macon, Georgia The U.S. Attorney's Office of Georgia (Middle District) issued a federal indictment to Pyrotechnic Specialties, Inc specifically naming the company, its CEO, and three employees. The charges listed in the indictment included money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the government related to the sale of allegedly faulty pyrotechnic grenades to the FBI.

According to the indictment, Pyrotechnic Specialties, Inc contracted with the DoD to manufacture MK 141 diversionary grenades (i.e. flash bang) grenades for a period of just over a decade (1996 to 2007). Special Forces units as well as other units within the Army, Navy and Marine Corps used the MK 141 grenades. The DoD contracts for the MK 141 grenades were valued at $15M.

A different model of the MK 141 was developed for use by civilian law enforcement agencies. Around four years ago, the Navy found a design flaw in the MK 141 grenades and issued a stop-work order to fix the flaw. The design flaw was also found in the civilian model of the grenade.

The indictment accuses Pyrotechnic Specialties Inc of re-labeling faulty grenades for resale that were sold to the FBI as meeting updated military standards. In all, the FBI received 41 shipments of the allegedly faulty grenades between 2000 and 2005, at a cost of more than $500,000. Three FBI agents were injured during a training exercise in Philadelphia when a suspected defective grenade prematurely detonated in the vest pocket of a SWAT team agent. A trail date has not been set.