AERIAL DISASTER

Federally Convicted Medical Supply Exec Dies in Vintage Plane Crash

Paul Ehlen and his company were convicted earlier this year for paying kickbacks to doctors.

A medical supply company executive recently convicted of federal offenses died Tuesday when his World War II-era plane crashed in Montana, according to police. Paul Ehlen, the founder of Minnesota-based Precision Lens, was the only person in the vintage aircraft when it crashed just after takeoff. “Paul had a passion for restoring and flying vintage military aircraft, and he was killed this morning when the single-engine P-40 he was flying back to Minneapolis suffered a mechanical failure on takeoff,” Ehlen’s company said in a statement to local TV station KARE. Earlier this year, a federal jury found that Ehlen and his company paid illegal kickbacks to doctors, including private jet flights and lavish vacations.