Individuals Nabbed in FBI Probe of NASA Contractors Say New Evidence Exonerates Them

Houston Chronicle/Associated Press ^ | Aug. 1, 2003, 7:41PM

[anymouse]

A group of people who were either acquitted of or pleaded guilty to bribery charges related to an FBI sting operation in the early 1990s aimed at NASA contractors have asked a federal judge to review their cases because they claim new evidence shows they were the victims of a flawed and corrupt investigation.

The sting, dubbed "Operation Lightning Strike," started in December 1991 and ended in July 1993. Agents aimed to root out corrupt contractors and government workers willing to violate federal procurement laws. The sting involved an FBI agent posing as a corrupt businessman who wanted to get a bogus kidney device flown on the space shuttle.

Twelve people pleaded guilty in the case while six others were acquitted. Prosecutors said the accused, part of the aerospace community that worked with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, offered bribes, traded inside information, took kickbacks and peddled influence.

One of the individuals who was acquitted in the case, Dale Brown, said at a news conference Friday that former FBI undercover operative John Craig gave a deposition in March which said the agent in charge of the investigation, James Francis, repeatedly admitted to him that those who were arrested were innocent.

"He manipulated facts and actions to make them. He would enhance them...they kept going back to (prosecutors who told) them that this isn't enough. What's the crime here? And it was this constant ongoing process of, which was not uncommon in undercover work, but there is a -- it's just a very fine line. You have to be very, very careful in that kind of work. You just don't cross that line. And I just became convinced personally...that that line was crossed," Craig said in the deposition.

Craig got to know Francis when the two men worked on a book about the sting operation. During that time, Francis confided in Craig about details of the case, said Charles Portz, an attorney who's been working with some of the individuals who were convicted.

Brown said he believes Francis, who has since resigned from the FBI, was motivated to push the investigation in an attempt to arrest high-ranking government officials -- which didn't happen -- and for personal gain through the sale of book, movie and television rights from the case.

Portz said attorneys are asking U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston to appoint a special master to conduct an inquiry of the new evidence. The ultimate goal is to have the convictions overturned and removed from the records of these individuals, but that will be difficult and the request might be appealed, he said.

"Nobody was trying to do anything illegal. A few plead guilty to it through embarrassment, humiliation and through coercive persuasion. These people were scientists with no criminal histories," Portz said.

Nancy Herrera, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston, which prosecuted those who were charged, said her office received the petition to review the case late Friday and still needed to study it. The U.S. Attorney's office normally does not comment on pending litigation, she said.

Francis could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Brown, who was accused of giving a Defense Department official $500 in exchange for the official's promise to give a $220,000 contract to his company, said Friday he understands why some of those who were charged pleaded guilty.

During the interrogation process the FBI agents "make you believe you are a criminal. I started thinking I must have done something wrong," said Brown, who now works at a law office. "We just want to right the wrongs that damaged so many people in the Johnson Space Center community."

[anymouse]

Actually most were NASA contractor or private non-contractor companies, not NASA civil servants who were the real targets of OLS (George Abbey and Carolyn Huntoon), which the FBI never got near.

I know these guys, who are good guys that I am sure were shafted.

Background info. on Operation Lightning Strike:

"Operation Lightning Strike Project - FBI Operation Lightning Strike: You Call This Justice?" Houston Space Society http://www.houstonspacesociety.org/OLS.html

"Interview with Dale Brown" http://www.houstonspacesociety.org/dale.html

"The FBI Undercover Sting of NASA" http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/olsindex.html

"Dale Brown's Summary" http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/Dale_Brown_Summary.html

"Chronology of Events" http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/Chronology.html

Operation Lightening Strike Trial Media Notice http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/press1.html

"FBI Operation Lightning Strike at NASA Devastates Individuals" http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/devsIndv.html

Oct. 4 Press Conference Speech http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/DaleBrownSpeech.html

Lightning Strike Victim Dale Brown Defense Fund http://www.ezez.com/hss/ols/Dale_Brown_Defense_Fund.html

[anymouse]

Article also ran in these papers:

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13654-2003Aug1.html

New Orleans Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0740_BC_NASASting&&news&newsflash-national

[anymouse]

Space ping.

[snopercod]

Does this involve a former USA director at KSC who bought millions of dollars worth of IBM computers although they failed the competition and cost more?

His brother (or brother-in-law) worked for IBM.

[snopercod]

The "Interview with Dale Brown" at http://www.houstonspacesociety.org/dale.html sounds really fishy.

The guy is rammed at high speed, shot at (how did he know it was a .38?), then when the police pull over his attacker, he simply drives on home without stopping.

I'm sorry, but that story is simply incredible.