A Guilty Plea for Failing to Test Youth Helmets Properly

By Alan Schwarz

The former president of a company that refurbished sports equipment for hundreds of school districts pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Newark on Monday to charges that included failure to conduct proper tests on thousands of youth football helmets.
David Drill, the former president of Circle System Inc., of Easton, Pa., acknowledged that his company tested fewer helmets than it was required to under guidelines set by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. While the exact number was not specified in the pleading, an official for the national organization said in an interview Monday that about 4,000 helmets were returned to the field improperly during 2005 and 2006.

Circle System was one of the nation’s largest helmet reconditioners, cleaning and replacing any worn parts in about 300,000 helmets used mostly by youth and high school players at a cost of about $50 a helmet.

To earn Nocsae certification, companies must not only visually inspect the helmets for cracks and other problems but also subject about 2 percent to drop tests in which they are hit with substantial forces from different angles.

Drill, 60, who lives in Easton, was the president of Circle System from 1988 until September 2007, when he left near the beginning of the federal inquiry. Circle System had recently been purchased by Schutt Sports, a prominent helmet manufacturer that was not a subject of the investigation.

In a statement, the acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra Jr., said that Drill admitted to submitting hundreds of fake invoices and price quotations, sometimes on competitors’ letterhead; bribing school officials with gifts like golf clubs and clothes, billing the cost back to schools under the guise of professional services; and double-billing, sometimes with knowledge of the school officials involved.

Drill pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

United States District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise did not schedule a sentencing date because of Drill’s continuing cooperation in the investigation, the United States Attorney’s office said.

Drill’s lawyer, Joseph T. Afflitto, Sr., said through an assistant, “My client accepted responsibility and will cooperate when called upon.”

It is not known whether any players were hurt in a helmet reconditioned by Circle System, which did much of its business in the Northeast.

More than 50 football players ages 12 to 18 have died or sustained serious brain injuries since 1997.