NBC 4
Los Angeles, California (USA)
POSTED: 2:18 pm PDT April 19, 2006
UPDATED: 2:27 pm PDT April 19, 2006
LOS ANGELES -- A La Puente man who ran a business importing drugs and illegal goods from China admitted Wednesday that he tried to broker a sale in the United States of shoulder-fired missiles, which can bring down airplanes.
Chao Tung Wu, 54, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import the missiles for a buyer who turned out to be an undercover agent.
Wu could face 25 years to life in prison. But defense attorney Gerson Horn said outside court that Wu's plea bargain calls for federal prosecutors to recommend that he receive less time in exchange for substantially assisting them in the case.
When Wu was indicted last June on the missile charge, he was already in federal custody for allegedly conspiring to traffic in other illicit goods from Asia -- including methamphetamine and counterfeit $100 bills that were also part of the government's undercover sting.
A co-defendant in the trafficking case, Rosemead resident Yi Qing Chen, was also indicted on the missile charge, and is awaiting trial.
The two were the first ever charged under an anti-terrorism law enacted in December 2004 that outlaws importing aircraft-destroying missile systems into the United States.
In Wu's plea agreement, he admitted arranging for shoulder-fired missiles to be imported from China, which the undercover agent was told would be done by routing them through a third country with the consent of bribed high-level officials in the third country.
The indictment identifies the missiles as the QW-2 shoulder-fired type used by the Chinese military since the late 1990s. According to the indictment, Wu sent a proposal to the undercover agent in Pomona that stated the deal would be for 200 QW-2 missiles, each equipped with a "ground energy unit, firing unit (and) optical aiming device."
The undercover agent was told the plan to import the missiles called for them to be first sent to Cambodia, then shipped on to the United States, according to Wu's plea agreement.
The agent was told that the daughter of the Cambodian president would facilitate the shipment in exchange for a $2 million bribe, according to the court document.
The agent was told he was supposed to put down a deposit of $300,000 for the missiles, in addition to wiring $1 million to Cambodia, according to the plea agreement.
Later, the agent was told that the third-party country "would have to be changed to Paraguay," the plea agreement states. He was given a letter that was supposedly written by the defense minister of Paraguay, according to Wu's plea agreement.
Wu further acknowledged that by mid-August of 2005, the undercover agent had been given instructions for wiring a payment for the missiles to a bank in Hong Kong. The missiles themselves were supposed to arrive at the Port of Long Beach.
Wu admitted that he and Chen did intend to broker the sale of the missiles. He and Chen were expecting a commission of 5 percent each, according to his plea agreement.
Outside court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Aveis said the government has no reason to believe the two men were not planning to deliver the arms.
In August 2005, however, Wu and Chen were arrested.
The undercover agent then had contacts with a foreign individual who said he wanted to go through with the arms deal, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In addition to the missiles charge, Wu pleaded guilty to five federal trafficking charges related to other goods brought into the country. In addition to the methamphetamine and counterfeit bills, he admitted trafficking in counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes from China and Ecstasy tablets.
With regard to the counterfeit currency, Wu admitted that another co-defendant went to China and bought counterfeit $100 bills with a total face value of $1 million, for which the co-defendant paid $350,000. The deal was on behalf of the undercover agent, who was told the money was from North Korea, according to Wu's plea agreement.
Horn said he is hopeful that Wu's sentence will be "well below 25 years" in light of his assistance to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer scheduled sentencing for July 31.
"After reviewing all the evidence, we felt it was in Mr. Wu's best interest to enter into this plea,' Horn said.
Chao Tung Wu, 54, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import the missiles for a buyer who turned out to be an undercover agent.
Wu could face 25 years to life in prison. But defense attorney Gerson Horn said outside court that Wu's plea bargain calls for federal prosecutors to recommend that he receive less time in exchange for substantially assisting them in the case.
When Wu was indicted last June on the missile charge, he was already in federal custody for allegedly conspiring to traffic in other illicit goods from Asia -- including methamphetamine and counterfeit $100 bills that were also part of the government's undercover sting.
A co-defendant in the trafficking case, Rosemead resident Yi Qing Chen, was also indicted on the missile charge, and is awaiting trial.
The two were the first ever charged under an anti-terrorism law enacted in December 2004 that outlaws importing aircraft-destroying missile systems into the United States.
In Wu's plea agreement, he admitted arranging for shoulder-fired missiles to be imported from China, which the undercover agent was told would be done by routing them through a third country with the consent of bribed high-level officials in the third country.
The indictment identifies the missiles as the QW-2 shoulder-fired type used by the Chinese military since the late 1990s. According to the indictment, Wu sent a proposal to the undercover agent in Pomona that stated the deal would be for 200 QW-2 missiles, each equipped with a "ground energy unit, firing unit (and) optical aiming device."
The undercover agent was told the plan to import the missiles called for them to be first sent to Cambodia, then shipped on to the United States, according to Wu's plea agreement.
The agent was told that the daughter of the Cambodian president would facilitate the shipment in exchange for a $2 million bribe, according to the court document.
The agent was told he was supposed to put down a deposit of $300,000 for the missiles, in addition to wiring $1 million to Cambodia, according to the plea agreement.
Later, the agent was told that the third-party country "would have to be changed to Paraguay," the plea agreement states. He was given a letter that was supposedly written by the defense minister of Paraguay, according to Wu's plea agreement.
Wu further acknowledged that by mid-August of 2005, the undercover agent had been given instructions for wiring a payment for the missiles to a bank in Hong Kong. The missiles themselves were supposed to arrive at the Port of Long Beach.
Wu admitted that he and Chen did intend to broker the sale of the missiles. He and Chen were expecting a commission of 5 percent each, according to his plea agreement.
Outside court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Aveis said the government has no reason to believe the two men were not planning to deliver the arms.
In August 2005, however, Wu and Chen were arrested.
The undercover agent then had contacts with a foreign individual who said he wanted to go through with the arms deal, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In addition to the missiles charge, Wu pleaded guilty to five federal trafficking charges related to other goods brought into the country. In addition to the methamphetamine and counterfeit bills, he admitted trafficking in counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes from China and Ecstasy tablets.
With regard to the counterfeit currency, Wu admitted that another co-defendant went to China and bought counterfeit $100 bills with a total face value of $1 million, for which the co-defendant paid $350,000. The deal was on behalf of the undercover agent, who was told the money was from North Korea, according to Wu's plea agreement.
Horn said he is hopeful that Wu's sentence will be "well below 25 years" in light of his assistance to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer scheduled sentencing for July 31.
"After reviewing all the evidence, we felt it was in Mr. Wu's best interest to enter into this plea,' Horn said.
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