The overarching case that came to be known as the Wedtech Scandal stemmed from Bronx defense contractor Wedtech Corporation loans obtained from the Small Business Administration (SBA), a Federal agency which was giving loans to minority-owned businesses in the 1980s. Wedtech had been founded by a Bronx native of Puerto Rican descent, John Mariotta, but one of his partners, Fred Neuberger, quietly acquired more than 50% ownership, which suddenly made the company ineligible for special SBA treatment and millions of dollars in government contracts. Wedtech continued to claim it was minority-owned anyway.
