Houston men plead guilty in oil-for-food case

Houston Chronicle ^ | Aug. 17, 2007 | DAVID IVANOVICH

[3AngelaD]

WASHINGTON — Houston oilman David Chalmers, accused of funneling illegal payments to Saddam Hussein's regime at at time when Iraq was the target of strict economic sanctions, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy charge. Chalmers' business associate at Houston-based BayOil, Ludmil Dionissiev, pleaded guilty to one count of facilitating a shipment of merchandise into the United States, knowing that shipment to not be authorized by law.

That leaves Houston oil tycoon Oscar Wyatt as the lone defendant still slated to go to trial in September on charges he made millions of dollars in illicit payments to Saddam's government for the privilege of buying Iraqi crude...

Wyatt attorney Carl Parker said today that his client is not guilty and intends to proceed to trial. Parker said he does not believe today's guilty pleas will affect Wyatt's prospects.

The charges stemmed from oil sales conducted under the United Nations' scandal-plagued oil-for-food humanitarian program for Iraq. That program was designed to allow Baghdad to export crude to help the Iraqi people while keeping the proceeds out of Saddam's hands.

But the Iraqi government began demanding that purchasers pay a secret surcharge to lift Iraqi crude. All three men were accused of funneling payments to Saddam's government from mid-2000 to March 2003.

Chalmers and Wyatt also were accused of trying to persuade U.N. oil overseers to lower the official selling price of Iraqi crude, so they could pay kickbacks to Baghdad and still turn a profit when reselling the oil, as well as engaging in prohibited financial transactions with Saddam's regime and violating U.S. sanctions rules.

[3AngelaD]

More insight into the lovely U.N. and its collaborators. Notice how they wait until late August, on a Friday afternoon, to plead. Sounds like the elderly Mr. Wyatt has got his tail caught in a wringer.

[Eagles6]

I said on another thread that Oil for Food was the reason that left us no choice but to go to war in Iraq. The un is responsible for all of this and will never be held accountable. Hell 60% of our population has never heard of Oil for Food.

[mirkwood]

The drive-by media are mum. Folks, thank goodness for common sense and FREE REPUBLIC!

[Free State Four]

Sounds like the elderly Mr. Wyatt has got his tail caught in a wringer.

Ummm. I don't think it's his tail that's caught. :)

[Grampa Dave]

Oil for food, info.

[Rumplemeyer]

Any word on the political affiliations of Mr. Wyatt ?

[3AngelaD]

He is a long time Texas Dem.

[Rumplemeyer]

Do tell, any more detais?

[3AngelaD]

Everyone in Texas knows he is a long-time, big time Dem, who I think occasionally gave to Republicans like Bob Dole. Apparently he has donated nearly a million to politicians since 1990, the vast majority to Dems. This is kind of interesting:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5053155.html

[Rumplemeyer]

Any “love offerings” to the two reptiles, Preident 42 and his lovely wife Bruno?

It wpuld be nice to seethem attemt to explain it during its run for the Whitehouse.

[Rumplemeyer]

Any “love offerings” to the two reptiles, Preident 42 and his lovely wife Bruno?

It wpuld be nice to see them attemt to explain it during its run for the Whitehouse.