Tech firm tangled in Iran scam
Link to story
By ASHLEY SMITH Telegraph Staff
Published: Friday, Sep. 21, 2007

A Nashua surveillance technology company is one of several companies across the United States that was scammed into selling military-type products illegally destined for Iran, the U.S. Department of Justice reports.

DCT Communications Inc., of 486 Amherst St., which sells electronic communications equipment to government agencies, was told the products would be used by the Polish Border Control Agency.

According to federal court records and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd, U.S. companies are not required to seek specific government authorization for that kind of "peaceful" sale.

But in fact, the Netherlands aviation company was violating a trade embargo by sending products such as parachutes, aircraft parts and industrial chemicals to Iran, according to a statement this week from the justice department.

"U.S. companies are mostly very good about not selling products to Iran . . . it's against the law," Boyd said, stressing the U.S. companies were not at fault. "In this case these companies were being lied to."

The Netherlands company accused of selling products to Iran is called Aviation Services International B.V. Owner Robert Kraaipoel, 64, of the Netherlands, faces a slew of criminal charges but has yet to be captured. Kraaipoel was charged following a federal investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Commerce, with help from the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

In total, Kraaipoel was successful in getting 290 items into Iran, Boyd said.

DTC did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday, but details of the company's involvement are spelled out in court records.

On Oct. 28, 2005, Aviation Services placed an order with DTC for two video receiver units, according to a criminal complaint against Kraaipoel filed in U.S. District Court.

Days later, on Nov. 3, a DTC employee sent an e-mail to the company requesting to know the products' final destination, as is required by federal law. When the response was Poland, the products were shipped Nov. 5.

Aviation placed a second order later that month and another shipment was exported in early 2006.

Polish border guards later told the FBI they would have no need for that type of equipment and had never done business with Aviation Services, according to the court records.

Aviation is also accused of scamming companies in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida and Kansas. Kraaipoel, the company and two other related firms are named in the complaint.

The maximum penalty for violating the trade embargo on Iran is 20 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

The goods were being sent to Iranian government agencies or private companies doing business in Iran.

You know, the Dutch may not have done anything wrong. They said they were buying the stuff for the Poles. It's totally plausible that the Poles accidentally mailed it to Iran.

With all his bare linking and reposting of entire articles, Lester is really doing a great favor to those of us who have never heard of the Internet.

Blow me.

And I'm glad you keep the link to "The Gloucesterman" in your signature. You never know when I might want to read that boring trash. I might have missed it the first 3,154 times that you posted it.

Before you start trashing other people you might want to stop polluting the noise with utter crap.

all ink is good ink.

now lets go back to making fun of pollacks

Who pissed in your Fritos, pothead?

The guy who bequeathed Gloucester "Dogtown". Bubbaville is less the 20 minutes by car and the real "Dogtown".

Agreed not even seriously poking fun of the work, just throwing it back at a hater that seems to like something.

You're right, though. I should dedicate my time less to innovative literature and more to smoking dope.

Pot's not going to cure your douchiness. "innovative literature".

If you're any indication, Mike, it will do wonders for my credulity.

How to describe Monet to a blind man? You'll have to give me some time on this one, Mike.

SLAM of the day!!!

How do any of the last seven posts denigrate polish people? No more Submarines with screen doors?

Did you hear the Polish bought 10,000 septic tanks? As soon as they learn how to drive them, they're going to invade Germany.

fascinating. will this happen on the board or off?

Hey YOooooo!

so what's the official time limit on sigs, then?
i guess everyone w/a band or a myspace or whatever should take theirs down too, in case you don't wanna read them either.
seems only fair.

i like the site myself, i wish i could live there.

Douche.

If you are a douche, yeah, you shouldn't promote your "innovative" crap here.

lucky --- for me, anyway, i can't think of one soul i'd put in charge of deciding what's douche & what's innovative.

we have a winner.

by the way, i believe there's a "block sigs" option

Technology rules.

I've forgotten to change my sig in about two years