PENSACOLA, Fla. — The former chief executive officer of a defense contractor with ties to U.S. Rep. John Murtha pleaded guilty in federal court today to a kickback scheme and defrauding the Air Force.

Federal prosecutors said Richard S. Ianieri solicited kickbacks from a subcontractor in Pennsylvania while he headed Coherent Systems International Corp. He also was charged with filing false purchase orders related to an Air Force contract in Florida.

Ianieri pleaded guilty to both charges during a hearing in Pensacola, Fla., and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He could face up to 15 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Preisser filed a plea agreement in connection with the case today, but few details were discussed at the hearing. U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier said the agreement included an opportunity for Ianieri to cooperate with the government, in which case a motion could be filed to impose a lesser sentence.

The agreement was not immediately made public.

Murtha has directed hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts to Coherent and other defense contractors over the years. He is not implicated in Ianieri's case and has previously declined to comment.