https://sputnikglobe.com/20230523/us-smuggler-who-claims-cia-backed-his-kurdish-gun-factory-convicted-of-torture-1110529395.html
US Smuggler Who Claims CIA Backed His Kurdish Gun Factory Convicted of Torture
US Smuggler Who Claims CIA Backed His Kurdish Gun Factory Convicted of Torture
Sputnik International
A former US paratrooper has become just the second American ever convicted of torture after allegedly abducting and abusing an employee at an illegal weapons plant meant to provide guns to Kurdish separatists in Iraq.
2023-05-23T03:40+0000
2023-05-23T03:40+0000
2023-05-23T03:35+0000
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A 54-year-old former paratrooper from Pennsylvania has become just the second American ever convicted of torture after allegedly abducting and abusing an employee at an illegal weapons plant meant to provide guns to Kurdish separatists in Iraq, a Monday release by the US Justice Department has detailed.A jury on Friday unanimously found Roggio guilty of 39 counts of torture, arms smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering — charges which carry a combined prison sentence of over 700 years. Sentencing guidelines suggest Roggio is likely to receive life in prison when his sentence is handed down in August.A release from the US Department of Justice says Roggio “arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound” where the perpetrator “suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period.”“The victim was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols,” the statement explains.“In connection with the weapons factory project, which included Roggio providing training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle, Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce,” the DOJ wrote.The release detailed the judgement marks the second-ever American defendant to have been convicted of torture since the federal legislation was implemented in 1994.Before taking on the role, Roggio was implicated in a number of legally-questionable financial schemes, including alleged attempts to defraud multiple business partners. Until his gun company folded, he spent years in the special forces haven of Fayetteville, North Carolina, before vanishing to Haiti, where he was accused of embezzling supplies from a charity aimed at helping Haitian earthquake victims.Roggio first came to Iraq in 2014 when he was brought in to manufacture pistols and assault rifles by Polad Talabani, a special forces commander who’s heir to a Kurdish political dynasty known as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.When he touched down in Erbil, prosecutors say Roggio brought sticky fingers with him. They allege he “diverted millions of dollars, meant to purchase manufacturing equipment, for his own personal expenses, including Rolex watches and sports cars,” one US outlet explained.Throughout it all, Reggio reportedly insisted his actions carried the blessing of the Central Intelligence Agency.After he was first busted in an apparent attempt to smuggle gun manufacturing materials to Iraq, Reggio insisted the agents questioning him didn’t have the appropriate “clearance levels” to continue the conversation. He subsequently claimed the agency instructed him to pass intelligence onto Talabani.Legal filings submitted by Roggio claimed the American Consul General in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, Ken Gross, had authorized him to build the weapons factory.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220916/judge-blocks-release-of-report-into-cia-torture-on-national-security-grounds-1100869279.html
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us, pennsylvania, kurdish gun factory, iraq, torture conviction, us justice department
us, pennsylvania, kurdish gun factory, iraq, torture conviction, us justice department
US Smuggler Who Claims CIA Backed His Kurdish Gun Factory Convicted of Torture
A conman who spent years attempting to manufacture illegal weapons for Kurdish separatists in Iraq is likely to face life in prison.
A 54-year-old former paratrooper from Pennsylvania has become just the second American ever convicted of torture after allegedly abducting and abusing an employee at an illegal weapons plant meant to provide guns to Kurdish separatists in Iraq, a Monday release by the US Justice Department has detailed.
A jury on Friday unanimously found Roggio guilty of 39 counts of torture, arms smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering — charges which carry a combined prison sentence of over 700 years. Sentencing guidelines suggest Roggio is likely to receive life in prison when his sentence is handed down in August.
A release from the US Department of Justice says Roggio “arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound” where the perpetrator “suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period.” “The victim was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols,” the statement explains.
“In connection with the weapons factory project, which included Roggio providing training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle, Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce,” the DOJ wrote.
The release detailed the judgement marks the second-ever American defendant to have been convicted of torture since the federal legislation was implemented in 1994.
Before taking on the role, Roggio was implicated in a number of legally-questionable financial schemes, including alleged attempts to defraud multiple business partners. Until his gun company folded, he spent years in the special forces haven of Fayetteville, North Carolina, before vanishing to Haiti, where he was accused of embezzling supplies from a charity aimed at helping Haitian earthquake victims.
16 September 2022, 16:13 GMT
Roggio first came to Iraq in 2014 when he was brought in to manufacture pistols and assault rifles by Polad Talabani, a special forces commander who’s heir to a Kurdish political dynasty known as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
When he touched down in Erbil, prosecutors say Roggio brought sticky fingers with him. They allege he “diverted millions of dollars, meant to purchase manufacturing equipment, for his own personal expenses, including Rolex watches and sports cars,” one US outlet explained.
Throughout it all, Reggio reportedly insisted his actions carried the blessing of the Central Intelligence Agency.
After he was first busted in an apparent attempt to smuggle gun manufacturing materials to Iraq, Reggio insisted the agents questioning him didn’t have the appropriate “clearance levels” to continue the conversation. He subsequently claimed the agency instructed him to pass intelligence onto Talabani.
Legal filings submitted by Roggio claimed the American Consul General in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, Ken Gross, had authorized him to build the weapons factory.
