FIGURES IN IRAN ARMS CASE ARE NAMED IN FLA. LAWSUIT

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00965R000402950005-0
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
March 8, 2012
Sequence Number: 
5
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
December 17, 1986
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00965R000402950005-0.pdf122.67 KB
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/08 :CIA-RDP90-009658000402950005-0 h 3'~~ ~ ~N ~IOBE A^ '~=`- aPP~A E~ ? 1 December 1986 ~~'??~` FIIE ONLY es in an arm s case are nam ' In a aws ? gy gen Bradlee Jr. The suit !s bernq brought by ? r ~~~ Globe Staff -~_ ~?__~._ ~~u~reu ngures in the tran- contra affair -retired Alr Force Ma). Gen. Richard Secord and his Iranian business partner. .gibert Hakim -arc part of a renegade teem of former and current gov- ernment agents who have traf- ficked In arms and narcotics since the Vietnam War to support antl- communlst Insurgency warfare around the world, according to an aftidvait filed this week Ina Itttle- publici~ed federal lawsuit in ~ll- arru. man White House, ('rnmrfl airy. r n~???? -'~:unf ?roun to ntn ~ ,. the Secord aid and to hel facilitate thevs ecrct sale o arms to Iran the lawsuit ~? the charr>ea are spelled out in a 95-Qaae at7ldavit tiled Mondav In ,enn o - ~~~ .marina HQnev. a husband and wits tree- lanls burnalfer r --- a.,~ xveral i he lawsuit ft l d nta av . e I .H after a - v ti ano n. stems the 'Nav 1984 bombing o a ess conference h~i~f ,,.. ...,_.__ -- ---?? ? a~w,a to 1-03ta RTC8 ve et'sons x?ere r and two dozen in ured, ins u n Avtrrian and Honev astora was a n..~.~ i.. . - - - . Th suit charges the defen- dants with rcsponstbllity for the bombing In the context of a larger conspiracy to xll cocaine In the United States ro rata money to buy arms and other supplies for the contra war effort. The lawsuit exposed detail, of the contra sup- PIY Pipeline and has taken on new slignlflcance since news first broke of the diversion ~i profits from Iran arms sales : ~ .ie contras. " ?"""Q? a rroeral Catholic public Interest l aw firm and policy center best known for winning a X10.5 mullon Ilbel verdict for the family of Karen Silkwood. the nuclear worker allegedly contaminated while handling plutonium at the Ketr Mc(',ee Corp. Christlc lawyers say they In- tend to bring evidence they have uncovered to the attention of the independent counsel to be ap- pointed in the Iran-contra affair. Aanong those named In the law- suit bpldq $~oro and Hakim are Theodore Shacltley, former deputy director of the CIA In charge of co- Thom a Cllnd? reprcd Ma teary' John Stnglaub, chairman JofGche World Antl-Communist L eague a.nd active in assisting the con- teas: Rafael gulntero, a Cuban ex- ikand CIA contract employer dur- ing the aborted gay of P1gs Inva- sion: ?John Hull, an American businessman who owns a ranch In Costa Rica that allegedly s erved as a staging area for CIA-supplied weapons for the contras: and Rob- ert Owen, a Virginia businessman and consultant to the State De- partment who allegedly served as North's liaison with the contras. The defendants have denied the charges. and at a hearing Monday In M1am1 on a defense motion to dismiss the cas l e, aw- yers for the defenx charactertzed the charge as nothing more than "malicious gossip. ~' Many of the defendants in the Chnsuc Butt are former associates of Edwin Wilson, the ex?CIA oper- ative now serving a length f d y e er- al prison term after his conviction of shtpping weaponn? to the Lib- yan leader. Col. Moammar Kha- dafy, In the 197ps. In his affidavit. the lead Chnsuc attorney. Daniel Sheehan. names Wilson as one of at least 79 witnesses who are sup- plying the plaintiffs wrth e~i- dense, particularly against Shack- ky and Clines. his former associ- ates !n the agency and to private business. work and context- ~., "'c rramr P-aatora bombin ~n wt~,ch the P~pntlffs allege that the pr~.at Iv fltgtnfxd contra supp-y operation tsrooted Ina "secret team" whose. core group was Shacklev and CHnq and which later included Secord. Wilson. Hakrm and oth- ers. Sheehan argues that chic group, distllusloned by what ,t perceived as the isolatlonrst bent of Congress and the vidssitudes of Ameriean democracy, used ,~ri_ I1Qns of dollars In profits generat- edby narcotics trafficking to wage sicret, unauthorized terrertst wars against communist groups in Cuba. Vtetnam. Laos. Iran. Chile. Libya and :Ylcaragua. As deputy chief of the CIA sta- tion in Laos to !965, Shacklev and his deputy. Clines. helped forge an alliance with M1b trrbes- men and. through air and other tactical support, helped one Nrn faction gain a monopoly on opium trafficking, the suit allegq. In re- turn for this assistance, the Hzo leader turned over a percentage of the drug profits to the CIA. The suet alleges that the Shacklev group skimmed nvonev from this fund and funneled !t to a secret bank account in Australia controlled by Shacklev, Clines and Secord. who had helped ran tie CIA s secret are war .n Laos from Imo'"l96g and that perodlcally. record and C~~nes would carry surtcases of cash to Australia. Before the fall of Sargon in ! 975. the Shacklev group also svs- COrrti ^ ~ ? , Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/08 :CIA-RDP90-009658000402950005-0 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/08 :CIA-RDP90-009658000402950005-0 tematlcally pilfered a large weap- ons cache from US stocks in Vlet? nam and hidden it to Thailand. according to the affidavit, where it was later used 1n other "off Itne ' operations. One country where the group was active, according to the afflda~tt. was Iran. where Wil- son. Serord and Hak1m, w?ho rep- resented US business interests un- der the shah, were based !n the late 70s In 1979. after the overthrow of the shah and Shackley's and Clines forced resignation fmm the CiA because of their dealings with Wilson, most of the network went private. though Secord was sttll In the Air Force as director of Inter- national programs. 8y 1979. the suit alie>Zes. Shackley. Clines. WII- son. Secord and Hakim had cre- ated a number of corooratlons and subs;dtaries around the world to conceal their operations. which would later Include aid to the con- trasand selling arms to Iran. z Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/08 :CIA-RDP90-009658000402950005-0