Middletown Employees Speak Out About Company's Sudden Closure That Put More Than 100 Locals Out of Work

More than 100 employees of (ASFT) in Middletown left work for the last time on Monday afternoon following the company's sudden announcement that it would close immediately due to the federal government's seizure of its assets in a criminal investigation.

Don Smith, an employee of 10 years at ASFT, left shortly after 1 p.m.

Like all employees, Smith had also received the company-wide email sent out earlier Monday informing them the company would close at noon and all employees would be laid off. The email had been sent from ASFT Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Wayne M. King, who had been serving as acting president since last week.

The defense contractor ASFT has been at the center of a federal criminal case allegedly involving a $10 million kickback and bribery scheme. The U.S. Justice Department has charged Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 58, of Roswell, GA, its founder and president, and Ralph Mariano, 52, of Arlington, VA, a civilian program manager and senior systems engineer with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Newport.

Smith said that some employees were already receiving requests for interviews with other local area defense contractors that might pick up certain projects ASFT had been working on with the United States Navy and Defense Department. Still, he said that he and many others at ASFT remained concerned for the employees and their families who did not yet have such prospects lined up and for those employees who had dedicated their careers working for ASFT.

"These are many, many fine employees here who would be an asset anywhere and there should be no ASFT stigma attached to them because of this whatsoever," Smith said. He added, "They had nothing to do with this."

Smith said he also knew of "too many employees with young families" who had just closed escrow on purchasing a new home or others who were devastated by the news. "People were so proud to work here and of the important work we did. People's hearts are just being ripped out because of this," he said.

ASFT is a provider of technical support and engineering services for various industries that includes submarine combat control systems.

Employees said many on staff live on Aquidneck Island, while others reside throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts.

Paul Shenosky, a senior analyst, said he already had an interview lined up Monday afternoon with Seacorp, another defense contractor in Middletown.

He said he worried for other employees but noted that since the company's president had been arrested last week by the U.S. Justice Department, an air of uncertainty had lingered within the corridors of the company.

"At least we know where we are now...We know for sure this door is shutting and that now we have to move on," Shenosky said.

Employees who answered calls at the company's Middletown branch and its headquarters in Roswell, GA, declined comment and referred all calls to the company's attorney Bryan B. Lavine of the firm Trautman Sanders in Atlanta.

Lavine had not yet returned calls for comments on Monday.

The company's website at www.asft.net was no longer active on Monday morning.

Dutta-Gupta is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court in Providence on Tuesday, Feb. 15 to answer the charges.

ASFT is based in Roswell, GA, with offices in Middletown at the , as well as in Washington D.C.

Patch will continue to follow this story as it develops.