No verdict in missile trial as jury deliberations start
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
BY JOHN P. MARTIN
Star-Ledger Staff
Jurors began deliberating the fate of accused missile broker Hemant Lakhani yesterday, but ended the day without a verdict.
U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden released the panel after it met for nearly six hours in a fourth-floor room at the federal courthouse in Newark. She ordered the eight women and four men, as well as the lone alternate juror, a female, to resume deliberations this morning.
Lakhani, a 69-year-old British businessman, was arrested in an FBI sting at an Elizabeth hotel in August 2003 and later indicted for attempted material support of terrorism, illegal arms brokering, money laundering and making false statements in support of terrorism.
Prosecutors say Lakhani was a budding arms dealer eager to supply shoulder-fired missiles to an undercover FBI informant who said he represented terrorists planning an attack against U.S. jetliners. After Lakhani struggled for more than a year to find missiles, Russian federal agents intervened and posed as weapons suppliers to complete the deal.
Lakhani has not disputed the facts of the case, but contends he was entrapped because government agents orchestrated all aspects of the deal.
The jurors sent the judge one question yesterday, asking for a definition of the word "commerce" as it is used in the indictment. On the smuggling charge, Lakhani is accused of "intending to introduce missiles into the commerce of the United States."
After consulting with the attorneys, the judge sent the jurors a definition from Black's Legal Dictionary. It described commerce as "the exchange of goods and services, especially on a large scale, involving transportation between cities, states and nations."
The prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart Rabner and Brian Howe, and defense attorney Henry Klingeman all declined to comment on the question or speculate as to its significance.
If he is convicted on all counts, Lakhani could face more than 30 years in prison.
Jury to deliberate in Hemant Lakhani trial
GG2.NET NEWS [27/04/2005]
THE TRIAL of Hemant Lakhani, the Briton accused of trying to sell missiles to terrorists in the US, is underway, with the jury set to begin its final deliberations in New Jersey.
Lakhani, 69, a London resident, was arrested after presenting a sample shoulder-fired missile to an FBI agent posing as a Somali terrorist. He has denied the charges.
Lakhani`s lawyer, Henry Klingeman, has described his client as a "joke" who "couldn`t finish a deal if his life depended on it". According to him, Lakhani is a victim of entrapment, adding that his client could not have sold illegal arms without the help of a manufactured government plot.
But prosecutors have argued that Lakhani tried to sell arms to at least three countries. They dispute the entrapment claims and say Lakhani agreed to the arms deal "with gusto", offering to sell 50 or more missiles.
Lakhani has denied one count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and one count of unlawful brokering of foreign defence articles.
He also faces two counts of money laundering, and one count of attempting to import merchandise into the US by means of false statements.
He was one of the three people arrested following an operation by the FBI, UK and Russian intelligence services. He has been held in a New Jersey prison since his arrest in August 2003, following a two-year surveillance operation.
He could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The trial, which began five months ago, has been repeatedly adjourned as Lakhani had to undergo surgery for severe artery damage, a double hernia and internal bleeding.