United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

TWO SIGNIFICANT ARMS EXPORT DIVERSION CASES PROSECUTED IN CONNECTICUT

Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Robin Avers, Special Agent in Charge, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement – New England, and Kathryn A. Feeney, Resident Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, today announced two significant illegal arms export matters being prosecuted in Connecticut.

ROTAIR INDUSTRIES INCORPORATED, a Bridgeport, Connecticut-based corporation, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven to two counts of an Information that charged the company with exporting defense articles and munitions items from the United States without the necessary licenses and approvals from the U.S. government. As part of the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office, ROTAIR has agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and institute an export compliance program acceptable to the U.S. Government aimed at ensuring that no future exports are made without the necessary approvals from the Government.

Under U.S. law, any individual or other entity seeking to export from the United States an item designated as a military defense article must receive permission from the U.S. State Department. In the application, the applicant must attest to the ultimate destination of the item.

As disclosed in today's court proceedings, ROTAIR became a subject of investigation when items manufactured by the company were discovered by U.S. agents, working on another matter, to have been shipped to Iran, a prohibited country and embargoed by Executive Orders issued by Presidents Clinton and Bush. As a result of the discovery, separate undercover operations were conducted by Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to determine if, in fact, ROTAIR was willfully shipping munitions items out of the country without seeking the necessary approvals from the U.S. Government.

Two investigations, one conducted by ICE agents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and another by ICE and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) agents in Connecticut, confirmed independently that this was the case. In each instance, ROTAIR engaged in negotiations with undercover companies posing as international purchasers and sold and shipped military items to these companies. In one instance, in the New Haven investigation, ROTAIR shipped the items, including gun mounts, to the undercover company in the United Kingdom. Most of the items were for use on military helicopters.

Prior to both undercover efforts, the U.S. State Department advised ROTAIR, both telephonically and through the submission of the actual export regulations to the company, that they needed to be registered with the State Department and apply for a license for any shipment of munitions from the United States. Despite such admonitions, ROTAIR did not seek U.S. State Department permission.

U.S. Attorney O'Connor also announced that WESLEY HARRINGTON, an officer of ROTAIR and son of the owner, Herbert Harrington, pleaded guilty today before Magistrate Judge Margolis to attempting to impede federal agents who were in the process of executing a search warrant at ROTAIR on July 24, 2003. HARRINGTON admitted that during the course of the search, when agents left the room for a brief moment, he tried to dismantle his computer so as to render it inoperable.

When he is sentenced on July 27, 2004, HARRINGTON faces a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment.

In a separate and unrelated arms trafficking case, U.S. Attorney O'Connor announced the unsealing of a four-count Indictment charging KWONHWAN PARK, also known as HOWARD PARK, and SUNG-RYUL CHUN, also known as ROGER CHUN, both South Korean nationals, with violating the Arms Export Control Act.

PARK was arrested on April 1, 2004, at Dulles Airport in Virginia, when he attempted to board a plane destined, ultimately, for China. At that time, PARK possessed sophisticated night vision goggle technology, a military item controlled for export. After his arrest, PARK was presented before a United States Magistrate Judge in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered detained and removed to the District of Connecticut where the prosecution is pending. PARK arrived in Connecticut on Friday, May 7, was presented this morning before Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and entered a plea of not guilty. CHUN is currently being sought by the U.S. Government.

As disclosed in court proceedings and documents filed with the Court, for more than two years, PARK was the subject of an ICE and DCIS investigation after he and his Malaysian company, SGS, had previously purchased two military helicopter engines from Helicopter Support International, a company affiliated with Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut, and shipped them to China. PARK had applied for a license with the U.S. State Department and represented that the engines, worth in excess of $1,000,000 each, were destined for the Malaysian Army. PARK and SGS went so far as to submit a sworn end user certificate, with signatures from purported Malaysian military officials, which attested that the engines were for use by the Malaysian military. Subsequent investigation by New Haven ICE agents, in the United States and abroad, confirmed that the signatures were fraudulent. As the investigation continued, PARK and his associates attempted to obtain four additional engines for the S70 Sikorsky military helicopter. Acting on a suspicion, General Electric, the manufacturer of the engines, notified agents in New Haven. According to court documents and statements made in open court, when PARK was interviewed at that time, he attested that the four engines were destined for the South Korean Army. Previous investigation by ICE agents had already confirmed that the South Korean Army had never ordered the engines.

Earlier this year, ICE agents were alerted that PARK intended to enter the United States through San Francisco on March 27, 2004. ICE and DCIS agents tracked his movements and intercepted him when he attempted to depart the United States through Dulles Airport on April 1, 2004. A routine inspection of PARK's luggage confirmed that he had in his checked bag and on his person a sophisticated night vision goggle system that was manufactured by a San Francisco, California corporation. PARK was arrested based on a Complaint prepared and executed in the District of Connecticut at Bridgeport. It is alleged that the military helicopter engines purchased by SGS were diverted to China, and that the documents submitted in support of the sale to HSI and Sikorsky were fraudulent.

If convicted, PARK faces a maximum sentence of ten years of imprisonment on the AECA count and five years of imprisonment on the other counts, and a maximum fine of $2,500,000. U.S. Attorney O'Connor stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the Government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut is at the national forefront in prosecuting illegal arms export cases," U.S. Attorney O'Connor stated. "However, these two cases, and the many others previously prosecuted by this Office, require the tremendous skill of our federal investigative partners, and great cooperation from the many defense contractors here in Connecticut. We will continue to work diligently in order to prevent the illegal export of sensitive military technology."

"Today's cases demonstrate that those who endanger U.S. national security for the sake of profits will be held accountable," stated ICE Special Agent in Charge Avers. "Halting the illegal export of munitions and sensitive technology is one of the highest priorites of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE is stepping up efforts to keep sensitive U.S. technology and equipment out of the wrong hands. The military items at the heart of these cases are controlled for good reason – in the wrong hands, they represent a threat to Americans at home and abroad."

"These two cases reflect the priority given to matters involving the illegal export of Defense technology and hardware," stated DCIS Resident Agent in Charge Feeney. "The partnership of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has and will continue to protect the citizens of this nation and America's war fighters here and abroad."

These cases were investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Special Agents from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Office of Inspector General. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Appleton, who specializes in arms export diversion cases and anti-terrorism matters.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov