Ex-Philippine President Named in Spy Plot

AP/KSL ^ | April 25th, 2006

[ncountylee]

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Federal prosecutors identified former Philippine President Joseph Estrada and two other Philippine officials as alleged participants in a spy plot involving a former FBI analyst.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, Estrada, Sen. Panfilio Lacson and former Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella worked with Leandro Aragoncillo, the former analyst suspected of passing secret intelligence to officials in the Philippines.

Prosecutors said the men might have wanted the information to try to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Estrada, who was toppled amid massive street protests in 2001, denied the allegations during a telephone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press in the Philippines.

He acknowledged receiving information from Aragoncillo, but said the information amounted to little more than summaries from Manila newspapers and should not be considered espionage.

He also dismissed the notion that he would have been involved in any plot to oust Arroyo, a former vice president who succeeded him in 2001.

"I don't have that intention, whatsoever," he said.

Lacson also denied the allegations, according to local news reports, while Fuentebella could not be immediately reached for comment.

Aragoncillo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Philippines, is a former U.S. Marine who worked in the offices of Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney. While working for the FBI at Fort Monmouth, he was accused of downloading more than 100 sensitive intelligence documents. Court documents indicate he is negotiating a plea agreement with the U.S. government.

[oolatec]

This guy, huh...

http://livinginthepast.us/images/abc_wnt_spygore_051005_t.jpg