PhillyInc

Environmental Tectonics Corp. (AMEX: ETC) of Southampton, led by William F. Mitchell III and occasionally rescued by H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest, may not be able to call itself a U.S. defense contractor anymore. ETC said in an SEC filing last week that the Navy Department has barred ETC from all government gigs. That'll hurt, but probably not surprising after ETC already lost most of its government contracts amid back-and-forth lawsuits with the Navy -- finally settled last summer -- over its decompression chambers. Mitchell's team told the SEC it will appeal at a meeting set for this Wednesday with Navy officials, who we guess know something about not holding their breath.

- Thomas Ginsberg