Robert Raymond Ruks, who worked as an inspector for Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding, Newport News, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements by falsely certifying that he had inspected the hulls of Navy ships and submarines. Ruks had falsely certified that he inspected three lift pad welds on a Navy submarine and lied to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service about other ship and submarine hulls that he had failed to inspect. Subsequent re-inspection of all the welds certified by Ruks, which required almost 19,000 work hours and cost approximately $654,000, found a defective critical pipe joint weld on a submarine. At the time of his plea, Ruks was ordered to pay a $200 special assessment.