...customs officers and others watched the Mena contraband expand far beyond the Contras to include
the export of munitions to Bolivia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil—a hugely lucrative black market in
arms variously called the Southern Tier or Southern Arc. By any name, intelligence sources described
it as a CIA operation, often under the cover of bogus front companies, though occasionally with the
knowledge of executives and workers in “legitimate” corporations providing spare parts. The
smuggling was known to have made millions in criminal profits for rogue CIA operations, mainly from
what one former intelligence officer called the “clockwork” transshipment of weapons and other
contraband from “meticulously maintained” rural airports in Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky,
Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Arizona.
[It was] the gruesome mercantilism of a government whose operatives and associates freebooted with
official permission, if not collusion... that dark side of the American system, too grim for press and
public...—Sally Denton and Roger Morris, Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America
Global International Airways—Azima—The Kansas City Scene
The infrastructure of the “Shackley network” (already discussed in Iran-Contra ep”:
—Edwin Wilson: the money-man
—Thomas Clines: the front-man
Edwin Wilson provided Clines with money to launch International Research and Trade, which acted as
a corporate umbrella for two other companies that Clines set up:
—System Services International (SSI)
—API Distributors
SSI took 49% ownership in a company co-organized by Clines: the Egyptian-American Air Transport
and Services Corporation (EATSCO)
51% of EATSCO held by Tersam, a Virginia-based company owned by a former Egyptian intelligence
officer named Hussein K. Salem
—Hussein K. Salem lived for a time in a Ramada Inn on Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, Virginia.
According to Clines, the Ramada Inn's bar was a CIA “watering hole”
—Next door to the Ramada Inn was 7777 Leesbug Pike, an office building owned by Richard Vigurie,
a prominent conservative activist, member of the Georgetown Club and fellow traveler with the China
Lobby (the Moonies in particular)
—EATSCO placed its corporate headquarters in 7777 Leesburg Pike
—EATSCO purchased security equipment from a company called the Systems Engineering
International Corporation (SEICO). SEICO was also located at 7777 Leesburg Pike, and was owned by
one Donald Lower. Lower was the former manager of Edwin Wilson's farm
After the Camp David Accords, an agreement was reached where the US would sell Egypt $3 billion
worth of armaments and electronic gear. EATSCO held the exclusive contract to transport this
merchandise to Egypt
—EATSCO overbilling the Pentagon—money being siphoned off into covert operations run by the
Shackley network (intimated by Michael Ledeen)
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS
Joseph Trento: Global International Airways was founded as the air freight wing of EATSCO. Farhad
Azima, an Iranian, as front-man for the company, though Global was actually organized by James
Cunningham. Cunningham was the head of Air America in Laos, served under Shackley when
Shackley ran the CIA station in Laos
—Azima did describe himself as a friend of Salem
Global International Airways was set up with initial financing provided by the Commercial Credit
Corporation, a financial lending subsidiary of the Control Data Corporation
—Control Data Corporation had earlier hired Edwin Wilson as a 'consultant' (hired Consultants
International?), ostensibly for the shipping of surplus computers to the developing world. Wilson ended
up bugging the offices of the US Army Materiel Command in order to obtain “inside information... on
bidding and procurement plans”
“Airlines”, James Kindall, Kansas City Star, June 10th, 1984
—Global International Airways headquartered itself in Kansas City, presented itself as a “seat-of-thepants cattle transporter”
—Global International held the contract with EATSCO to transport massive amounts of weaponry to
Egypt, under the auspices of the US-Egypt weapon sale agreements
—Global soon engaging in a series of arms flights to Ecuador, Peru, Nairobi, Thailand, Turkey, and
Pakistan. The munitions being moved to Pakistan were likely related to covert CIA support for the
Mujahideen fighters. Some of these arms were sourced in China.
[NOTE: Chinese weapon manufacturers were indeed providing arms to to be supplied to CIAbacked rebels in Afghanistan.]
—Global was active in Liberia. Plans for a Liberian base for a 707 fleet owned by Global were drawn
up. The plan never came to fruition, but Azima was made “special advisor to the head of state of
Liberia for aviation”. (head of state being Samuel Doe)
—Global was contracted to ferry Doe and other members of his government around the world on a
'goodwill tour'
Some notes on Samuel Doe:
Came to power in a coup in April, 1980. Government was called the People's Redemption Council
(PRC). Several factors in coup:
—Ethnic tensions between 'Americo-Liberians', descendants of freed slaves, and indigenous Liberians.
Most of Liberia's political elite were Americo-Liberians; Doe was the leader of a pro-indigenous
faction within the Liberian Armed Forces.
—Western support for Doe due to his relationship between his predecessor, Tolbert, and the Soviet
Union
The US Embassy was instrumental in forming the PRC as a military junta immediately after the coup.
All civilian communication was shut down in Liberia, and American advisers were assigned to
Liberian key ministries. US chargé d’affaires Julius Walker states that US Soldiers were deployed in
Monrovia and “got looters and shooters off the street.” Doe “had not really expected to be where he
was.” He feared that “forces were coming from all corners to attack him and he wanted America to
send him strong support.”..
According to Smith, the Soviets were “very interested in all this, although they were completely
nonplused by the coup.” Doe, however, “knew little and cared less about communism and the Soviet
Union.”29 Walker notes that Doe was “exceedingly pro-American... because of the training he
received earlier [from] the U.S. Army and the people he had known such as Colonel Gosney and his
officers.”30 Smith recalls that Doe “adored Colonel Gosney, and...referred to him always in the third
person as ‘the Chief.’ ” According to Smith, the presence of the “US military mission that had been
there for decades” saved the United States in Liberia. He notes that “he can’t emphasize strongly
enough how helpful it was to have this small group of American Army officers, consisting of a group of
lieutenant colonels and majors” who were closely related to their counterparts in the Armed Forces of
Liberia. Doe could quickly pass the word that “whatever the chief [Gosney] says, goes.”
Furthermore the USG sent three Army mobile training teams to Liberia to train the newly formed 1st
Infantry Battalion, the Army Staff, and the Ranger Company.32 For the first anniversary of the PRC,
Walker arranged for the arrival of a new Navy ship and “got the Green Berets from Fort Bragg,” who
landed in Monrovia by parachute—an act that “made quite an impression.”
James Keough Bishop, US ambassador to Liberia (1987–90), indicates that after the coup, the USG
regained access to the seaport and airport, allowing the government to “send cargo to other parts of
Africa with no questions asked.”
(Neil Hahn, “US Covert and Overt Operations in Liberia, 1970-2003)
On Colonel Gosney:
(Henry Dethloff and John Adams, Texas
Aggies Go to War, p. 315)
THE S&L CONNECTION AND THE COLLAPSE OF GLOBAL
Global International Airways was closely tied to an obscure little Kansas City institution, Indian
Springs State Bank, which was nestled away in a strip mall between a wig shop and a shoe store.
In 1980, hoping to turn business around, Indian Springs' board hired William Lemaster, a Missouri
banker with “impeccable credentials” to run the bank. Lemaster, in turn, brought in an attorney named
Anthony Russo—a well-connected figure whose resume included a stint as the attorney for Nick
Civella, the head of the Kansas City mob. Russo was made vice president of Indian Springs, and soon
began to court all sorts of strange business to the bank.
Indian Springs became one of the places where Mario Renda was depositing money.
Mario Renda: during the 1970s he had attempted to launch a construction company in Saudi Arabia;
became extremely close to Adnan Khashoggi. The construction scheme didn't pan out and he spent time
as the treasurer for Arab International Bank, which may have been affiliated with BCCI. Managed
petrodollar certificates of deposit: Arab International moved these CDs around the world, seeking out
the best interest rates.
Returned to New York City and launched First United Fund to broker CDs
Came into contact with Martin Schwimmer, who managed the pension fund for Teamsters Local 810
and Sheetmetal Workers 38. They began to invest the pension fund money in CDs, which were then
deposited at S&Ls around the country
Teamsters Local 810 was closely connected with New York City organized crime, and Renda and
Schwimmer maintained mob ties. Schwimmer accused of money laundering for the Lucchese crime
family and Renda identified as a moneyman for Paul Castellano, the boss of bosses of organized crime
in New York City
Renda and Schwimmer deposited vast sums at S&Ls across the country. These S&Ls would turn these
deposits into loans. The strange thing that kept happening at S&Ls that Renda deposited money into is
that many of the recipients of the loans were organized crime figures, CIA assets, and shady
businessmen generally tied to both. These loans were usually not paid back, and the money was often
used for convoluted real estate deals, the proceeds from which tended to vanish into the shadowy webs
of offshore finance.
Renda brokered deposits into 130 S&Ls. All of them collapsed.
At Indian Springs, where Renda deposits were flowing, Russo was bringing organized crime into the
mix. His old clients, the Civella family, were borrower at the bank.
Another person involved at Indian Springs was Morris Shenker, a former mob attorney for Jimmy
Hoffa and a player in the old looting of the Teamster pension funds. He was closely tied to the Civella
family. Reportedly, the scheme for Renda to broker deposits into Indian Springs was hatched at a
meeting, attended by Russo, held in a hotel room at the Dunes in Las Vegas—controlled by Shenker.
Azima was also at Indian Springs. He was brought on as a director, and ended up being the 4th largest
shareholder in the bank, having purchased a 10% stake. Meanwhile, Lemaster was an “advisory
director” and Russo a “consultant” to Global International.
When Global took Samuel Doe on the goodwill trip around the world, Russo was asked by Azima to
accompany him.
Azima sponsored loans for Morris Shenker and the Dunes; at the same time, Global was flying junkets
for the Dunes and other Vegas casinos
Global borrowed heavily from Indian Springs—millions in excess of the $500,000 borrowing limit.
Much of this went unpaid when Global went bankrupt in late 1983
In 1984, Indian Springs went bankrupt
Some of Global's airliners were transferred to Race Aviation, also located in Kansas City.
Race Aviation was owned by Farhad Azima's brother, and Global had previously leased aircraft to Race
On November 9th, 1986, the Los Angeles Times reported that a Race Aviation was spotted in Tehran at
the same time that negotiations were being held over TOW missile sales to the country. Farzin Azima,
the owner of Race, denied that his plane was in Iran.
Race later revealed to have been ferrying arms into Iran
After Global and Indian Springs collapse, Azima started a British airline concerned called the Aviation
Leasing Group
Aviation Leasing Group borrowed heavily from Utica National Bank and Trust in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
which went bankrupt at the end of the 1980s.
In 1989, Azima purchased a Waco, Texas-based airline company called Buffalo Airways.
Like Race Aviation, Buffalo Airways appeared in the Iran-Contra affair: Oliver North's personal
notebooks contained a reference to a flight on a Buffalo 707 moving arms from Poland to Guatemala
Azima took Buffalo to Azerbaijan, and formed a partnership with the newly-launched Azerbaijan
Airlines. Under the terms of the partnership, Azerbaijan Airlines would lease 707s from Buffalo (and
Aviation Leasing Group); Buffalo jets would assist in cargo carrying; and Buffalo would train
Azerbaijan pilots and flight crew in Dallas, Texas
Azima's new Azerbaijan venture was happening simultaneous to the arrival of Richard Secord and
other Iran-Contra veterans in Azerbaijan, under the auspices of Mega Oil. As we talked about in the
epilogue of the Iran-Contra episode,
—Secord & Co began training the Azerbaijan military, and began airlifting CIA-backed Mujahideen
from Afghanistan to the country to act as a force multiplier
—Azerbaijan fighters were brought to Texas to be trained
Azima eventually became a pretty serious player in Azerbaijan. Joined the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of
Commerce, a DC-headquartered non-profit set up to promote US investment into Azerbaijan (really
seems like a front outfit for the energy industries in particular). Other directors have included
executives from BP, ConocoPhilips, Chevron, and politicians like Dick Cheney. Advisors and trustees
have included Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski
Bill Ransom and the C-130 Caper
When Global went bankrupt, several airline companies were listed as entities that Global owed money
to for services rendered. These were:
—Southern Air Transport, CIA proprietary
—Evergreen Aviation, CIA proprietary
—Response Air International, Inc
What was Response Air?
Response's base of operations was at an Air Force base just outside of Kansas City. Its headquarters
were in California, but the company was incorporated in Miami. Florida business records list Vernon
Craig as the registered agent for Response Air, and his address is listed as the primary address at
incorporation.
Vernon's LinkedIn lists him as an “independent aviation consultant”, and states that from 1977 to 1984,
he was a VP of marketing at Aviation Sales in Miami. There are countless 'Aviation Sales' companies in
Miami; hard to narrow down which one. 1984-1988 is a gap in the resume, then he went to work for a
Pan Am subsidiary
In 1983, Response Air was consigned $19.5 million worth of parts by Ransom Aircraft Spares, a Texasbased company that, like Response, was incorporated in Miami. Craig appears listed as a VP of
Ransom Aircraft in an 1986 issue of the World Aviation Directory
In the consignment contract, Response was to get 1/3 of the profits from the sale of the aircraft parts.
Receiving 2/3rds was Ransom and Sunbelt Savings Association from Dallas.
At the same time, Sunbelt made a loan to Ransom, with Ransom putting up as collateral the very same
$19.5 million in parts. The loan was never repaid, and Sunbelt Savings collapsed in 1986.
Ransom Air was launched by Louis T. “Bill” Ransom, a Dallas native with a long history in aviation
companies.
When he launched Ransom, the incorporation was carried out by an oddball character named Wordy
Jack Thompson Jr. Wordy Jack was also the attorney who did the incorporation of Buffalo Airways
In 1986, Wordy was disbarred after it turned out that in, in 1982, he put false information on a loan
application from Empire Savings and Loans, a Texas S&L. Empire Savings was the very first S&L to
collapse, in the early year of 1984—and it would be another Renda-linked institutions. Over half of the
deposits that were held by Empire were deposits brokered by Renda and Schwimmer.
Ransom Air was not the only time that Wordy and Bill Ransom could be found the same place. In the
1970s, Wordy incorporated another Ransom company—Global Jet Sales.
Aviation directories list Global Jet Sales as a division of Ransom Aircraft Company. I could find Global
Jet Sales through the Texas Secretary of State business search, but could not find Ransom Aircraft Co.
Could be registered in some other state
In 1978, Ransom and Global Jet Sales became involved in a weird attempt to buy a decommissioned
fleet of Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft and resell them to Libya.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules background info:
—four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft that were capable of being adapted to a variety of
purposes (could serve as generic transport, as gunship, as search and rescue craft, as a reconnaissance
craft, used for aerial refueling, for firefighting)
—Design team for the C-130 was led by Willis Hawkins, who subsequently became the VP of
Lockheed and the Assistant Secretary for Research and Development for the US Army
—C-130 Hercules rolled out in 1956, delivered to various Air Force wings. Some of the earliest uses
were for troop transport and for surveillance
—The first non-American military to receive C-130s was Australia. They received 12 C-130s in 1958,
and the flight crews were trained at an American air base in Nashville, Tennessee
—Australian C-130s saw extensive use during the Vietnam War. After the war used for search and
rescue, drug interdiction, etc. They were eventually replaced by newer Lockheed C-130 models, and
they began searcher for buyers for their old fleet. Australia assumed that the aircraft would ultimately
be stripped for parts and scrapped
A delassified State Department diplomatic cable states that Ransom was making the initials bids via a
“Mr. Hank Lindner”, of the “House of Lindner”. Some kind of weird Australian dynastic company—
farm equipment, construction, grain exports
The same cable refers to Bill Ransom's “Washington representative”, a “Randolph Prothro” of Hunt
Enterprises.
Did hours of digging trying to find Randolph Prothro—turns out that his name isn't Randolph, but
Randell. Hunt Enterprises was located in Maryland, and the only trace I could find of it was in a
handbook of contractor codes in military purchasing from the mid-1970s.
The memo states that Prothro and a “Congressman Chapel” were hoping that the State Department
would nudge the Australians to release the C-130s to Ransom. I believe 'Congressman Chapel' was
Congressman William V. Chappell, from Florida
A second State Department cable states that Ransom retained the services of Frank Hamilton, a PR man
at Eric White Associates, an Australian public relations firm. Eric White Associates, since 1974, had
been owned by Hill & Knowlton
It was later revealed that the Australian security services would use Eric White Associates as cover for
agents active in Asia
Also alludes to Ransom working with a “Mrs. Bloodsworth”—cannot figure out who this is, potentially
somebody linked to Prothro
“Fort Worth Group Tried to Buy Planes for Libya”, Jim Fuquay, Fort Worth Star Telegram, December
7, 1980
—Group included Ransom; Max Park of Parmax; Harold Hammett, Fort Worth attorney; Stanley Mann
of Diamond Industries Inc; Admiral E.L. “Whitey” Feightner, aviation consultant
[Max Park's Parmax shared the same address with Ransom's Global Jet Sales. I also found that
the same year that the negotiations began, he attempted to take control of the Citizen's State
Bank in the town of Frost, Texas.
Diamond Industries was a holding company for a complex of oil interests held by Stanley Mann
Mann was also affiliated with the Petroleum International Associates, a New Jersey-based outfit
that sourced crude on the international markets for independent refiners
NOTE: Libya was supplying crude in this period, and other New Jersey-based refiners were
looking to buy Libyan crude. Is this why Stanley Mann appears in this story?]
—Negotiations began in 1978
—Max Park and Harold Hammett traveled to Libya to discuss the sale of the C-130s; stated that they
didn't meet with the military, but the Libyan post office
—Ransom brought Jack Richards of Onyx Aviation in Oklahoma in as a consultant
[At least one aircraft owned by Onyx was used in Iran-Contra]
—E-Systems tapped to update the planes
[E-Systems was originally LTV Electrosystems, a military electronics division of Ling-TemcoVought
E-Systems, after spinning off as an independent company in 1972, became (like LTV) a major
contractor for the military, the intelligence community, and police departments across the
country
In 1975, E-Systems purchased Air Asia, the Taiwan-based counterpart of Air America, at the
CIA's request
E-Systems deliberately recruits individuals retiring from the CIA to work for their company.
“Critics say in some ways the company is almost indistinguishable from the CIA”
The sale appeared to have initially gone through, with Ransom registering them with the FAA, but very
quickly the US government stepped in and blocked the sale. The reason cited was that it they couldn't
allow military hardware to fall into the hands of Libya.
Ransom and Park, for whatever reason, blamed Lockheed and initiated a lawsuit against them. They
argued that Lockheed was preventing the sale of surplus C-130s to drive up global demand for their
new models
Weird series of events involving Robert Vesco took place on the back end of these events
Still a fugitive due to the looting of IOS, Vesco was ensconced in the Caribbean but popped up as
something of an agent of Libya
Scheme to bribe two Carter administration officials to get the release of “8 embargoed C-130 Hercules”
to Libya—I suspect that this must be part of the fleet of 12 that the State Department was blocking
Vesco's back-channel to the Carter officials was James Day and James Brewer.
James Day—former Texas state rep who had become a lobbyist for ANICO.
James Brewer—assistant to Shearn Moody, the head of ANICO
ANICO—Texas insurance company that had been prominent in Vegas and in the Caribbean, invested
into Resorts International (likely how they brushed up against Vesco in the first place). Where George
Eccles was on the board of directors
Whole thing becomes quickly incomprehensible: Brewer had been involved in some convoluted
securities fraud, and was flipped as an FBI informant. He was supplying info to the FBI on these plane
dealings—this was ostensibly supposed to be a sting about Vesco, but all it really did was add to the
“Billygate” scandal. Wiretaps allude to Billy Carter being involved in some level in the plane affair
Was there a connection between Vesco's plane efforts and the efforts of Ransom?
—Texas as a connecting thread: Ransom & crew were from Texas, with the exception of Stanley Mann,
who was from Philadelphia and had business interests in New Jersey. Vesco's channels into the Carter
admin used two Texans. I have not, however, find any direct tie between these players
—Libyan oil for independent refiners: Mann's New Jersey business ventures included sourcing crude
oil for independents. One New Jersey/New York company, Carey Energy, was refining Libyan crude in
the Bahamas. At the same time that the plane affair was underway, Vesco was in contact with Charter
Oil, who was trying to purchase Carey Energy. He was offering to use his influence with the Libyans to
help the acquisition. I cannot find any ties between Mann and Carey or Charter.
Charter principles would later be involved in some of the biggest incidences of S&L looting
What about Edwin Wilson in Libya?
—We saw that Ransom's networks would mingle with those around Global International, which was
clearly part of the Shackley network. Shackley's man Ed Wilson was in Libya throughout this period. Is
there a connection there?
—We know that Robert Keith Group and Edwin Wilson were basically joined at the hip. Was it a
coincidence that Ransom was using a subsidiary of Hill and Knowlton in his efforts to acquire the C130s?
—In the Iran-Contra ep, we had already linked the Shackley network to Billygate, as well as to
Debagate (via Robert Keith Gray) and October Surprise. What's going on here??
The Secret C-130 Fleet
The blocking of the C-130 sale to Libya didn't put an end to the strange goings-on
Purchased from Ransom by Ford & Vlahos, a San Francisco law firm
Ford—John Ford III, a San Francisco real estate development lawyer
Vlahos—John Vlahos—attorney for the Golden Gate Bridge
Ford & Vlahos appears on a list of registered foreign agents, representing interests in Australia
Gary Eitel (more on him later) identified John Ford as a “CIA attorney”
Several of these planes were sold by Ford & Vlahos to the Aboitiz Air Transport in the Philippines
Part of the corporate empire of the Aboitiz family—at the top of the Filipino ruling class—very close
with the Marcos family
Hauling freight between Manila and Singaore
Attempted sale of one of the planes to Aviaco in Bogota, Colombia—sale blocked by FAA due to fears
that it was going to be used to smuggle Colombian cocaine into the US
Many of these planes were then subsequently unloaded to a company located out in Chandler, Arizona,
called T & G Aviation. Though Ford & Vlahos was not T & G's legal reps, John Ford was listed as the
secretary for the company.
The “T” in T & G was Sergio Tomassoni, an Arizone plane broker. In the early part of the 1970s, he
had worked at SS&T Co., which provided “slurry bombers” to the US Forest Service
[In 1993 there are bizarre newspaper stories about Tomassoni's 11 and 12 year old daughters
shooting their mother/his wife in the head while she was sleeping because they didn't want to
care for their aunt, who was living in their house with Alzheimer]
The “G” in T & G was William Grantham, who had been a former Air America pilot (CIA)
T & G's chief pilot was Bob Wofforth, also a former Air America pilot
This is where it all starts to get truly bizarre
T & G had a close relationship to a plane broker in Oregon named Roy D. Reagan, who may or may
not have been the cousin of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, in turn, owned the Hemet Valley Flying Service,
which contracted with the US Forest Service (the Forest Service relies on private contractors for firefighting flights).
Recall that T & G was also linked to the world of Forest Service contracting via Tomassoni
Aviation records show a complex relationship between Reagan, the Forest Service and T & G.
Sometimes Reagan would sell C-130s to T & G, sometimes vice versa. C-130s would flow through
Reagan to other aviation companies involved in contracting with the Forest Service (T &G was also a
Forest Service contractor).
It becomes exceedingly difficult to trace the provenience of these planes, because the tail numbers were
generally changed with each sale. You also have the mixing together of the Australian C-130s with
other surplus C-130s. Luckily, partial traces have been put together by plane nerds, and the picture that
emerges is a circulation of aircraft—“plane washing”, perhaps.
The reason this becomes important is that Roy Reagan and T &G were implicated in what is known as
the “Historical Aircraft Exchange Program”. This was kind of a wacky scheme, hatched by Reagan,
where the Forest Service would transfer ownership of 'historic planes'—C-130s and old P-3s—to
private companies, who would then get contracts. The kicker—and this is where T &G and its C-130s
come back into the mix—is that the private companies contracted by the Forest Service went off and
did things unrelated to fire fighting.
Gary Eitel, a pilot who became a whistleblower for this whole thing, had this to say in a legal
declaration made in the course of a lawsuit related to the scandal:
“Jack Chisum [T &G vice president] explained to me the following: He and another man by the name
of Woody Grantham had interests in a company called T&G Aviation a/k/a Douglas County Aviation.
Jack indicated that he was a vice president in the company and that he had a financial interest in it as
well. Jack went on to say that T&G's C130, aircraft were doing work for Southern Air and Evergreen in
Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. He said the paperwork was in place to show that the Bechtel Corp. and a
company out of Alaska called Martech were using the C-130s for routine oil field work, when in fact, it
was other kinds of work, including moving weapons... In Nov. 1991, in a phone conversation with Jack
Chisum, we again discussed the subject of T&G's C-130 predicament. Chisum admitted at the time his
own difficulties with flying C-130 aircraft in Kuwait was connected with the Forest Service program
about which I had inquired to the government. Chisum expressed grave concerns for himself and his
company and he stated he felt he was being set up by his competitors [Southern Air Transport and
Evergreen], with the help of certain people at the Forest Service”
“Review of the U.S. Forest Service Firefighting Aircraft Program”, Hearings before the Subcommittee
on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources
Chairman of the Subcommittee Charlie Rose grilling James R. Ebbitt, who audited the Forest Service
exchange program on behalf of the Department of Agriculture
Rose points out that “some of the aircraft made available for fire-fighting purposes had been transferred
in 1991 to the Middle East and were being used by Bechtel...” Goes on to note that T & G's C-120s
were these aircraft
Ebbitt kind of runs interference for the Forest Service, 'it didn't mean for this to happen' etc
Rose: “Did you ever have any suspicion? Wouldn't this lead reasonable people to assume that these
bold contractors doing things like this with the Forest Service might feel that they had some permission
from places higher up in the Federal Government, such as the CIA, the White House, or the State
Department to do something like that? Did that thought ever pass through your mind, Mr. Ebbitt?”
Ebbitt dodges the question
T & G had other C-130 funny business
In 1982, Humberto Montano in Douglas, Arizona, purchased a C-130 from Gary Larkins. Larkins is a
famed aviation salvage expert, leads a band nicknamed the 'air pirates'
Montano was a CPA—doubtful that he was the real owner of the C-130; likely holding it for someone
else. In 1980 Montano was pushing for an extension to the Douglas airport that would feature a runway
that crosses the Arizona/Mexico boarder
The C-130 then ended up in the hands of Valley National Bank of Arizona
Valley National, interestingly, participated in a syndicate loan to Charles Keating, who was one
of America's great S&L looters
Participating in the loan was a French entity called Saudi European Bank S.A. Saudi European
was set up by a number of BCCI-linked Saudi money interests, but the board had various
American and European figures. One of these was Alfred Hartmann, the “BCCI rent-a-face”
that managed a lot of Bruce Rappaport's money. To bring it full circle, Keating and Hartmann
were partnered in an offshore outfit called Trendinvest, which they used to siphon off S&L
money
T & G got it from Valley National
In September 1990, T & G leased the C-130 to Trans Latin Air, a Panamanian company owned by one
Luis Carlos Herrera-Lizcano, of Bogota, Colombia
Luis was, in fact, also the owner of Aviaco—the company that Ford & Vlahos tried to sell one of the
Australian C-130s before being blocked by the US government
Luis was subsequently revealed to have run an “air wing” for Colombian cartels, utilizing a network of
multiple companies registered in Colombia, Panama and Mexico. Luis' planes ran billions of dollars
worth of cocaine into the US and Canada
After the lease, Luis returned the C-130 to T & G. It was promptly resold to Aero-Postale, an aviation
company in Mexico.
T & G ultimately sold three C-130s to Aero-Postale; the other two had been involved in the circular
trade of C-130s between T & G, Roy Reagan, and the Forest Service
Later, in 1997, one of these C-130s was busted—had been hauling company. A subsequent
investigation revealed that Aero-Postale was controlled by the Tijuana cartel, one of the successors to
the feared Guadalajara cartel.
From Arkansas to Africa
In 1993, Ford & Vlahos was sued by an entity called the ITT Industrial Credit Corporation—some sort
of industrial financing outfit
John Ford had taken out a loan from ITT to finance one of the acquisitions of the Australian C-130s
This aircraft was leased to the US Nuclear Defense Agency, and was oddly flown to Africa: “relief
operations in the Sudan” in 1986
Ford paid installments on the loan between 1983 and 1986, at which point he defaulted on the loan
ITT repossessed the aircraft, and had it moved to an airfield in Chandler, Arizona
I don't believe this was a normal repossession, but a clever transfer of ownership. Chandler was where
T & G was located, which Ford was linked to, but it did not transfer to T & G
This plane, with the tail number N4469P, was moved around by a company called Multitrade, which
had been hired by ITT.
Multitrade was owned by a former Australian C-130 pilot named Glen Conrad.
One of the principles in Multitrade was one Peter Dickens, also a former Australian Air Force pilot
Dickens also owned a “aircraft-ferrying business” called Southern Cross Aviation, Inc”
Both Multitrade and Southern Cross were located at the little airport of Mena, Arkansas
Soon, N4469P was parked at Mena, where it joined a growing C-130 fleet
From Sally Denton and Roger Morris' suppressed 1985 article, “The Crimes of Mena”:
“there was still more evidence that Seal's massive smuggling operation based in Arkansas had been
part of a CIA operation, and that the crimes were continuing well after Seal's murder. In 1991 sworn
testimony to both Congressman Alexander and Attorney General Bryant, state police investigator
Welch recorded that in 1987 he had documented "new activity at the [Mena] airport with the
appearance of . . . an Australian business [a company linked with the CIA], and C-130s had
appeared. . . .”
This CIA-linked Australian company clearly referred to the Southern Cross/Multitrade complex
In the Iran-Contra ep, when we touched on the goings-on in Mena, we mentioned Park-On-Meter, a
parking meter company close to the whole world of the Clintons, Jackson Stephens, Worthern Bank
etc. that was contracted to build gun parts in connection with the Contra support operations
Alexander Cockburn wrote several articles on the Mena operations, including one for The Nation (of all
places!) about Park on Meter called “The Secret Life of a Parking Meter Manufacturer”
According to one of Cockburn's sources, Park on Meter began, in 1981, to manufacture “drop tanks-i.e., external fuel canisters--for use on the C-130s. These tanks, attached to pylons on the wings and
jettisoned when empty, are necessary to fuel long-range transport missions. While standard on military
aircraft, they are virtually unknown in civilian use. Drop tanks are essentially nothing more than
aerodynamic metal containers--well within the productive capabilities of a company set up to make
parking meters.”
Drop tanks are also used on C-130s used for firefighting—“Modular Airborne FireFighting System”
The primary manufacturer of that system, Aero Union, was among the companies involved in the Roy
Reagan/Forest Service C-130 scheme
Park on Meter was a recipient of financing from the Arkansas Finance Development Authority, a pet
project of Clinton that seems to have washed money and also made capital available to his close allies
Dan Lasater—close to the Clinton inner circle, owned the bond brokerage Lasater & Company
Terry Reed in Compromised discusses how Lasater was extremely close to Barry Seal prior to Seal's
death
Lasater & Company worked closely with the Arkansas Finance Development Authority, made $1.6
million in commissions in 1986
Denton and Morris, Partners in Power:
“[Lasater] bought the fashionable Angel Fire ski resort in northern New Mexico for nearly $20 million
and was given free rein to use Bill Clinton's name commercially to help promote the isolated
development... Undercover law enforcement agents later found the resort a center for drug running,
what a US customs investigative report called a “large controlled-substance smuggling operation and
large-scale money laundering activity”. While Lasater held “Arkansas week” at the resort with
Governor Clinton's endorsement and entertained politicians from Santa Fe as well as Little Rock, local
New Mexico sheriffs and district attorneys were hearing reports reminiscent of Mena—strange
nighttime traffic, sightings of parachute drops, even hikers' accounts of a “big black military-type cargo
plane” seeming to come out of nowhere and swooping low and almost silently over a deserted
mountain meadow near the remote ski area”
So what happened to the Ford & Vlahos C-130 that ended up at Mena?
While it was being stored there, it became the property of a Florida-based company called African Air
Trans
African Air Trans was owned by a CIA-linked pilot and arms smuggler by the name of Henry A.
Warton. Warton's particular specialty had been ferrying arms in and out of Africa:
He was active during the Nigerian civil war, running arms as well as medical supplies into Biafra, a
secessionist state that had declared independence from Nigeria.
Guy Arnold, Mercenaries: Scourge of the Developing World: “A typical blockade runner was Captain
Henry Warton who operated as the North American Trading Company... A rival American was Captain
Lucien Pickett of USAIR and these two competed for contracts... Pickett's number two was the
notorious Nazi war hero, Otto Skorzeny”
Another principle in African Air Trans was a Brit named Michael Harridine
Bizarrely, Harridine would later become the chairman of the Liberian Civil Aviation Regulatory
Authority, which handled registration of aircraft and aviation companies in Liberia. His was not located
in Liberia—he carried out this task from his office in England
Involved with Harridine in managing the Liberian aviation registry was the “merchant of death”, Viktor
Bout
Bout had been in the Soviet armed forces, major in the GRU—bought up airplanes during the collapse
of the Soviet Union and began running operations out from Angola
He ferried arms all across African and the Middle East, providing them to basically every faction in the
various post-Cold War conflicts that were popping up. (might have moved assets for Al-Qaeda circa
2002-2003)
Back to the C-130—
It was resold to African Cargo Inc, which operated from the same Miami address as African Air Trans
African Cargo Inc was owned by Robert Warton, Henry Warton's son. Robert was also listed in the
Florida business records for African Air Trans
In December 1988, the C-130 took off from Mena, destined for Africa. It made a pit stop in Florida,
where it was seized by customs and promptly impounded.
One newspaper article from the time states that “A special agent investigating illegal arms exports
found that a fraudulent export license had been obtained for the aircraft, which is regarded as a weapon
of war. Its destination remains unclear. The export papers say it was to go to Liberia; the registered
owners also raised the prospect of flying it to Angola; and information given to one investigator
maintains that it was on its way to South Africa”.
An affidavit filed in conjunction with the case reveals that both African Air Trans and African Cargo
Inc were used to hide the real owner, “an unnamed Israeli living in Panama”
One Last Plane...
On June 6th, 1991, a C-130 with the tail number 9J-SLQ crashed on takeoff from an airport in Angola.
All ten passengers on the plane were killed, including a thirty-four year old aircraft mechanic named
Chuck Hendricks. He was from, curiously enough, Mena Arkansas.
Washington Post reported at the time: “Hendricks told his parents he was flying relief missions for the
Angolan government and the United Nations. But when the Hendrickes got the official notification of
his death, they were told that the plane was bound for a diamond mine in Angola, and that it was loaded
with whiskey, cigarettes and other provisions”. There was never any formal accident investigation
The provenience of this plane is only fragmentary. Prior to becoming 9J-SLQ, it had been owned by
something called World Wide Aeronautrical Industries, located up in Oregon and had the tail number
N9724V. World Wide had acquired the plane from none other than Roy D. Reagan, also located in
Oregon.
At the time of the plane's crash in Angola, there was a web of companies circulating around it. The
crew was hired by a company called Unitrann International, from Frankfurt, Germany. The plane itself
was being operated by Carib Air Transport Corporation, registered in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.
Carib Air Transport had leased the plane from CZX Productions Inc., a film production company
registered in Delaware. It was CZW that had purchased the place from World Wide Aeronautical
Industries.
All these companies are interrelated:
—One Dietrich Reinhardt was a partner in CZX Productions
—Dietrich Reinhardt was the president and director of Unitrann
—Dietrich Reinhardt was also the figure behind Carib Air Transport
Reinhardt was a German citizen living in Florida. He had numerous interests in Africa, and was
reportedly a close friend of Savimbi, the head of UNITA in Angola.
During the 1980s, Reinhardt operated Saint Lucia Airways. Based out of Saint Lucia, with offices in
Frankfurt and Miami.
Around 1986, St. Lucia leased a 707 from an El Paso company called Greco Air, who was maintaining
it on behalf of company called Seagreen Air Transport.
Seagreen Air Transport was a subsidiary of a company called Carib Holdings Limited. I'm wondering if
these are Reinhardt companies, since both are close in name to 'Carib Air Transport'
An investor inot Carib Holdings was Ian Paget-Brown, a British national who lived in the Caymans,
where he practiced law.
From Alan Block, Masters of Paradise, discussing the panic at Castle Bank when the IRS probe went
public:
“Helliwell contacted Castle's resident director, Tony Field, and told him that [Burton] Kanter would be
down in a few days to go through the expanded 'Cayman Trust files'. Kanter flew down and instructed
Field to put all the files in a conference room for review. When the review was completed, he told Field
to destroy some documents, to put others back in the office files, and to hold a batch in special security.
Instructions for dealing with these files followed by telephone from Helliwell. Field was told to buy a
“very secure, fireproof safe or filing cabinet” for the selected files, put them in and lock it. Then he was
to place the cabinet with one local attorney, Ian Paget-Brown, and the key with another. This
arrangement was to last several years”.
During the course of the Iran-Contra hearings, it was revealed that Reinhardt's St. Lucia aviation
company being used to ferry weapons to Iran. According to Albert Hakim, one of the primary coconspirators in the Enterprise, the company was a CIA proprietary.