CIA AND LIBYA: U.S. PROBING LINK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000100400002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 24, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100400002-6
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By -Paul West.
p:1:a3 Th e,Hefe4USeMvice
WASHINGTON - For snore than 20
years: Edwin P. Wilson: served his
country as a valued worker for the
CIA. But for the last five years, ac-
cording to authorities, he has served
mainly himself - and the likes. of;
Libyan leader Col. Moammar Khada-
fy.
Wilson and, another former, CIA
agent, Frank E. Terpil, were indicted
last year on charges of' running guns
in 1976 and 1977 to terrorists in Li
bya. The two are now fugitives from
justice, living abroad.
? An associate of theirs _ Roberta J.
Barnes,- is being detained in Fort
Worth., Texas. on a, sealed arrest
warrant naming her as' a- material
witness in a federal grand jury inves'
Ligation of their activities.
Former associates 'who' have told
their stories to law-enforcement
agencies and the press say the charg-
es against Wilson only hintat the ex-
e.ent's. tnultimillion-dollar business
empire - one built largely upon the
experience and expertise- he gained
during years of intelligence service.
Recent reports of his activities
include allegations that he-recruited
American pilots and mechanics to fly
and service planes`for the Libyan'
military; that, he enlisted -'former
Green- Berets to train terrorists in
Libya, that he was connected with
the shooting of a: Libyan_student.in?
Colorado; and much more.
Wilson's activities remain under
investigation by the Justice OS part-,
meat and the House Select Commit-
tee on intelligence. Other grand jury
probes into United States-Libyan
connections have been or are being
conducted in New York and Chicago.
,. Today.-Wilson is- safely ?ensconced
.in Libya's capital city, Tripoli, appar-
ently secure from-. extradition to the
United States. He conducts his busi-
ness affairs from a two-story luxury
.villa near the Mediterranean. Terpil
Js thought to be living elsewhere,
perhaps in Europe or the Mideast:
In an interview with an. American,
journalist last July, Wilson denied
reports of his links to. Khadafy and
insisted he had"never met the man."
tie-also denied.being involved in
: erroristtraining?activitim portray-
ing himself simply as a businessman
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
24 December 1981
working for the CIA in 1951. Almost a
quarter-century of classified work
with the agency and other U.S. intel-
ligence services gave-him an inti-
mate knowledge of worldwide mili-
tary. trade,' communications,'. high
technology and valuable secrets that
reportedly form the basis of a lucra-
live private empire. Wilson is said to
have claimed control of more than.
100 companies around the world. ` -
An 1976, according to federal au-
thorities"and"published reports, Wil-
son began work on a highly profit-
pble business deal with Khadafy.
"'The transaction, for which. Wilson
was ,later-'. indicted. . provides a
.'glimpse of his'method of operations.
implying that his work was- sanc-
tioned by the CIA, Wilson was able to
obtain arms,; sensitive communica-
tions equipment and other electron-
ics devices for sales that are. forbid-
den by U.S. export restrictions..
According to criminal charges
filed against them in April 1980, Wit=
son and Terpil arranged to ship 40,-
000 pounds of illegal explosives and
timing devices to Libya in 1976 and
1977. A California` explosives manu-
facturer, who cooperated with inves-
tigators, pleaded guilty in the case.
He-was fined S5,000 and sentenced to
four months in prison.:
Implicated, though 'not charged,
was Scientific Communications Inc.,
a longtime supplier to the- CIA. At a
meeting in a Virginia bar with a
Wilson employee in- the summer of
1976, company representatives
?agreed,to manufacture prototypes of
a device capable,of'detonating explo
sives at a precise time.
Scientific Communications presi-
dent Joe Halpain delivered the tim-
ers?to a Virginia motel, where they
were picked up by Wilson and one of
his employees. Halpain has said that
Wilson,duped him, telling him that
the devices were to be used to clear
minefields for American oil compa-
niesworking in the Libyan desert.
Wilson is said to have received 51
million from Khadafy for the muni-
lions sale, a reported 540,000 of which
went to Scientific Communications
for 1,000 timers. 1
Wilson's name also surfaced earls-?I
er this year after a -former' Green
Beret was arrested in New Mexico on-i
charges of attempted murder .in. the
Eugene A. Tafoya, had Wilson's busi-
ness card and the telex number for
Wilson's Swiss-based companies with
him when he was arrested.
Although Tafoya was subsequently
convicted of reduced charges in
connection with the shooting, his
arrest helped trigger anew round, of
reports-of Libyan_ murder. teams in.
the United, States: Those reports
helped -convince U.S. authorities to
close the Libyan'embassy in'Wash-,
ington, which the FBI.-said was a
source of murder plots against more _
than 100 Libyans disloyal to Khadafy
and living?in the United States.=
But -after those startling allega-
tions came reports of a Libyan terror
network that has marked American
officials at home and abroad, includ-
ing President Reagan, for assassina-
tion:Reagan?has said that the United
States has'"solid evidence',' of such
-plots.
Word of the Libyan hit squads was
reportedly passed to the White Houset
shortly after two U.S. jets downed,
two Soviet-built Libyan fighters offs
the North African coast last summer
:That incident dramatized the rapidly{
deteriorating relationship etween `
the United States and Libya.
Earlier this month, Reagan asked
all U.S. citizens, many of them oil-
company workers; to leave?..Libya,
The move was widely viewed as _a'
first step in what could be the final
break between the two countries; ?
closely tied. by commmerce since
-Americans made the. first oil discov-
eries in the Libyan. desert 25 years
ago. -
plying theimf SanitizedCopy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100400002-6