Nation IN BRIEF : VIRGINIA : Ex-Pentagon Aide Guilty in Fraud Case

A former deputy assistant Navy secretary has been convicted in federal court in Alexandria, Va., of abusing his public office by accepting gifts in exchange for funneling classified military procurement documents to consultants working for major defense contractors. James E. Gaines, 64, was cleared of a conspiracy charge but the jury in the five-day trial found him guilty of accepting an illegal gratuity, theft and conversion of government property, and use of a telephone in a crime. He is one of the highest-ranking public officials prosecuted in the four-year Operation Ill Wind investigation into Pentagon procurement fraud.