www.esryle.com
Posted on 06/23/2004 7:03:58 AM PDT by esryle
6/22/04 - NEWARK, NJ) — A man was arrested Tuesday and charged with trying to sell parts for sophisticated military fighter jets to Iran without a license.
Hamid M. Butt, 71, formerly of Humble, Texas, was arrested Tuesday afternoon after getting off a flight from Malaysia that had landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Christie said.
A Pakistani native, Butt had been living in Malaysia for several years, and was arrested upon his return to the United States. He also is a naturalized U.S. citizen, authorities said.
The criminal complaint against Butt was signed on Jan. 20, but had remained sealed until his arrest. It deals with an attempt to sell parts for the F14 Tomcat fighter to Iran in 1999.
Butt, who had not yet hired a lawyer Tuesday evening, is charged with violating the Arms Control Export Act by attempting to sell the parts without a license. The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Butt was the owner of Humble Parts Distribution, an aircraft supply business in Humble. Christie said at least 95 percent of the company's customers were located in the Middle East.
On Oct. 6, 1999, Butt received an order for F14 Tomcat parts from Office de Distribution et Maintenance (ODM), which prosecutors described as "an international spare parts trading company" based in France that did business in Algeria, Iran, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
On Oct. 19, 1999, Butt shipped electronic parts specifically manufacturer for the F14 Tomcat -- a navigation light, an integrated circuit, 100 demodulators, and five microcircuits -- on Continental Airlines from Houston to ODM's freight forwarder in Frankfurt, Germany, via Newark International Airport.
But the shipment was seized by U.S. Customs representatives at Newark, which quickly determined that the parts were all on the United States Munitions List, requiring a valid export license to ship overseas. Butt had no such license, prosecutors said.
In 1999, only two nations maintained and operated F14 Tomcats -- the United States and Iran, prosecutors said.
Butt is scheduled to make an initial appearance at 10 a.m. Wednesday in federal court in Houston.
No mention of Hamid's cousin Seymour.
Appears as though Mr. Butt made a complete A$$ out of himself...
Bada-bing !
Pre-coffee humor is kinda dry, but it's the best I could offer right now
Or his other cousin Harry.
Once again, Germany and France's names come up.
That was a dirty crack....
put him is jail and throw away the key...
A part here and a part there and you've got a F-14. Wonder what else this Pakistani's been up to while in Malaysia?
Pinging the "Evil Ashcroftarians".
Interesting twist on an old arms selling attempt.
Of course the Froggies are involved in this up to their eyeballs.
Interesting link.
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