Four Charged in U.N. Oil-For-Food Scandal

AP via ABC News ^ | April 14, 2005 | LARRY NEUMEISTER

[cyncooper]

NEW YORK Apr 14, 2005 — Four more people were charged Thursday in the scandal in the U.N. oil-for-food program, including a Texas oil executive and a South Korean businessman who was at the center of a 1970s corruption case involving Congress.

~snip~

U.S. Attorney David Kelley called the new charges "two more pieces in the oil-for-food puzzle" and said the investigation is not over.

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One of the indictments announced Thursday charges a Texas oil company owner and two oil traders with paying millions in secret kickbacks to Saddam's regime to secure oil deals, thus cheating the program out of money for humanitarian aid.

The fourth person charged was Tongsun Park, a South Korean citizen and fugitive who allegedly accepted millions of dollars from the Iraqi government while he operated in the United States as an unregistered agent for Baghdad.

In the 1970s, Park was at the center of what became known as the Koreagate scandal, in which he was accused of trying to buy influence in Congress.

In the oil-for-food scandal, Park was accused of telling a cooperating government witness in 1995 that he needed $10 million from Iraq to "take care" of his expenses and his people. The witness believed that that meant a person identified in court papers only as "U.N. Official No. 1."

FBI agent Nicholas Panagakos alleged that the government witness in 1996 met at a New York City restaurant with Park, an Iraqi official and a high-ranking U.N. official, identified in court papers as"U.N. Official No. 2."

~snip~

The indicted oil executive and traders are David B. Chalmers, sole shareholder of Bayoil (USA) Inc.; Ludmil Dionissiev, a Bulgarian citizen and permanent U.S. resident; and John Irving, a British citizen.

~snip~

[cyncooper]

Here is another article from today about the indictments and it gives a bit more background on Tongsun Park and the 1970s scandal he was involved with:

More charges brought in scandal at U.N. oil-for-food program

excerpt:

The South Korean businessman, Tongsun Park, is a fugitive who allegedly accepted millions of dollars from the Iraqi government while he operated in the United States as an unregistered agent for Baghdad.

In the 1970s, Park was at the center of what became known as the Koreagate scandal, in which he was accused of trying to buy influence in Congress. At the time, Representatives Otto Passman and Edwin Edwards, then a congressman and later governor, were linked to Passman's gifts and bribes.

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[randog]

Wake me up when they slap cuffs on Kofi and Kofi-Klone.

[cyncooper]

Slowly but surely, inch by inch, step by step...

And btw, I'm an even bigger dreamer. I want to see Marc Rich and you-know-who implicated (officially).

[Onelifetogive]

This is awesome. Finally, some low-level schmucks will get to fall on their swords to protect their bosses.....

[cyncooper]

Not exactly. You make the mistake of thinking this is the end of the investigation.

It's only the beginning.

[cyncooper]

Previous developments:

Iraqi-American pleads guilty in U.N. oil-for-food probe

January 19, 2005

excerpt:

Samir Vincent entered the guilty pleas to four charges Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York, including engaging in prohibited financial transactions with Iraq, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and making false statements on his income tax returns.

During his plea, Vincent implied that he was aware of an unnamed U.N. official who may have been bribed by the Iraqi regime.

~snip~

and from this article:

Iraqi-American Pleads Guilty in Oil-for-Food

excerpt:

Vincent is cooperating with the "active and ongoing probe of fraud and abuse in the U.N. Oil-for-Food program," Ashcroft said at a news conference.

[cyncooper]

More information on today's indictments.

[Wolfhound777]

I will try to remain positive about this and hope that real indictments are forthcoming. Right now it seems like business as usual with lowly citizens getting indicted and put away while guilty as sin government officials and UN officials walk.

[beyond the sea]

This is awesome. Finally, some low-level schmucks will get to fall on their swords to protect their bosses.....

LOL. Next thing you know someone will want to tell you that Sandy Berger may be going to prison. ;-)

More seriously though, Jonathan Hunt, the excellent reporter on FoxNews who has been dealing with this scandal for a long time, indicates that this investigation may have finally slipped out the door away from the dirty hands of little Kofi and "the tied hands" of Paul Volcker. We'll see.

There may be some bigger heads to fall sooner or later.

****

Maybe the Dem. loving, lefty media will find out G.W. played golf with one of the criminals. ;-)