Entire
Lexis Nexis report (13 articles) on Leo Wanta.
There
are only 13 documents here on Wanta, which itself
shows he kept a pretty low profile.
I've
found it's best to read these in reverse order,
as they were reported, since 1988.
The
first 1/2 are Leo Wanta trying to seal a deal
to sell 30,000 automatic weapons to Noreiga when
he was still head of Panama, in 1988. That seems
to remain consistent with the claims that Wanta
was close to U.S. Intelligence, and Reagan. Remember,
Noreiga was our son-of-a-bitch, and also a part
of the CIA/Cocaine connection until Bush invaded,
December 20, 1989. Mike, can you comment on this?
Now,
it's interesting that when Wanta's case came before
Wisconsin court in Madison, there's a lot of cynical,
outright ridicule of him in the reporting, yet
no one had the common research skills to show
that Wanta WAS something of a "global businessman"
as he claimed. Heck, in 1993, when these salty
little pieces in the Madison papers started destroying
Wanta in the realm of public opinion, they were
only 5 years away from the last time Wanta made
headlines. Physically, they were only 172 miles
away from Wanta's old HQ in Appleton, WI.
No
wonder the man's sanity was questioned. Questioned,
but never found incompetent.
In
between these two periods, Claire Sterling's book
Theives' World is published, and is reviewed in
Japan. The Madison reporters, after a year, begin
to grudgingly acknowledge that Sterling's book
verifies Wanta is a high stakes currency trader.
Document 1 of 13
Copyright
1996 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Wisconsin
State Journal
July
25, 1996, Thursday, FIRST EDITION
SECTION:
Local/Wisconsin, Pg. 2B
LENGTH:
159 words
HEADLINE:
TORPHY ORDERED TO RECONSIDER BAIL FOR APPLETON
MAN
BODY:
A
state appeals court has ordered a Dane County
judge to reconsider bail for an Appleton businessman
convicted of income tax evasion.
Dane
County Circuit Judge Michael Torphy denied bail
for Leo Wanta pending appeal of his conviction.
Torphy sentenced Wanta to eight years in prison
last November.
But
the appeals court said Tuesday that Torphy must
reconsider bail for Wanta.
''The
trial court failed to properly exercise its discretion
on Wanta's bail motion,'' the court ruled.
The
opinion also said the judge ''shall take into
consideration the nature of the crime, the length
of the sentence and other factors.''
During
the trial last year, Assistant Attorney General
Doug Haag portrayed Wanta as an international
con artist. Wanta claimed he worked as a spy and
had connections to top level government officials.
A
competency exam, ordered after Wanta's own attorney
called him delusional, found Wanta competent to
stand trial.
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Document 2 of 13
Copyright
1995 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Capital
Times (Madison, WI.)
November
21, 1995, Tuesday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION:
Front, Pg. 2A
LENGTH:
609 words
HEADLINE:
'DELUSIONAL' CON MAN GETS EIGHT-YEAR TERM
BYLINE:
BY MIKE MILLER THE CAPITAL TIMES
BODY:
Leo
Wanta, the Appleton man who claimed to be an international
businessman with connections to government agencies
but was portrayed by prosecutors as an international
con artist, will be spending the next few years
in Wisconsin prisons.
Wanta,
55, who was convicted in May of tax evasion, was
given an eight-year prison term Monday by Dane
County Circuit Judge Michael Torphy, who also
ordered a six-year probation to follow.
For
his part, Wanta -- described as delusional by
his own attorney -- continued his scam to the
end, claiming the court had no jurisdiction over
him, that he was a victim of a vicious Department
of Revenue and state Justice Department.
''I
know there is a conspiracy and subterfuge here,''
Wanta said when given a chance to speak. At various
times he has claimed to be a CIA agent, an ambassador
from Somalia, a close friend of former Presidents
Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and an international
businessman.
Assistant
Attorney General Douglas Haag, who prosecuted
the case, and attorney Steven Epstein, who represented
Wanta, disagreed mightily over who Wanta was and
what he should get for a sentence.
''As
tax fraud cases go, this one is big-time,'' said
Haag, who established during the trial that Wanta
made $ 166,000 in 1988 and claimed to have
made nothing, and made $ 63,000 in 1989
and claimed zero on his taxes.
Haag
said that money came from a $ 500,000 scam
in which Wanta got people toinvest in a currency
exchange deal.
''Mr.
Wanta is in fact a con man, nothing more and nothing
less,'' he said. ''He is a con man who cons con
men.''
Haag
said Wanta was arrested in Switzerland in 1993
for attempting an $ 81 million bank fraud.
Wanta claimed diplomatic immunity in that case,
contending he was the Somalian ambassador to Canada.
The Swiss deported him to the United States, where
he was arrested in New York on the Wisconsin tax
fraud charge.
Wanta
is also described in the book, ''A Thieve's World,''
as being involved in an attempted scam involving
Russian rubles.
''He
is a world class con man,'' said Haag. ''A snake
oil salesman. But he was unable to sell that snake
oil to the jury.''
Haag
asked for a sentence of 13 years in prison and
another 12 on probation.
Epstein,
on the other hand, said Wanta clearly is delusional.
He
called Haag's allegations ''a lot of shadows and
smoke and allegations of wrong doing around the
world,'' but pointed out Wanta has never before
been convicted of a crime.
''The
portrait that has been painted by Doug Haag is
not the real Leo Wanta,'' said Epstein.
''He
exists in a different world,'' Epstein said of
his client. ''The fact of the matter is he is
in a different orbit,'' Epstein said, adding that
Wanta actually believes the stories he tells.
Epstein,
who said the tax evasion sentences of Leona Helmsley,
Michael Milken and even the notorious Al Capone
were less than Haag's recommendation, asked Torphy
to let Wanta go for the 444 days he has spent
in jail since he was arrested.
Wanta,
a portly, gray-haired man, then arose and began
an extended speech in which he blamed his woes
on others, cutting short his remarks only when
Torphy reminded him that the case had already
been tried.
''I
just want to be left alone,'' Wanta said, adding
that if that was done, ''I won't sue them for
false arrest.''
Torphy
said he was sentencing Wanta only on the tax matter.
''I
don't purport to sentence him as a con man,''
the judge said. ''I don't purport to sentence
him as a swindler.''
But
he said the tax evasion was serious enough to
warrant prison time and as deterrent both to Wanta
and to others.
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3 of 13
Copyright
1995 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Wisconsin
State Journal
September
15, 1995, Friday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION:
Local/Wisconsin, Pg. 5B
LENGTH:
350 words
HEADLINE:
MENTAL COMPETENCY EXAM ORDERED IN TAX EVASION
CASE
BYLINE:
MARV BALOUSEK COURTS REPORTER
BODY:
A
mental competency examination was ordered Thursday
for Leo Wanta, an Appleton man convicted in May
of tax evasion.
Dane
County Judge Michael Torphy ordered the exam after
testimony by a Milwaukee psychologist at a sentencing
hearing. Wanta was convicted of failing to report
more than $ 220,000 in 1988 and 1989 income.
The examination may answer the question of whether
Wanta is a master con man or an unfortunate psychotic.
Wanta is a world traveler who has claimed to be
a CIA agent, a Somalian ambassador to Switzerland
and that he is a friend of former Presidents Ronald
Reagan and George Bush.
He
is featured in a 1994 book called ''Thieves World''
by Clare Sterling. According to the book, Wanta
masterminded a European ruble trading scam.
Torphy
said there is reason to doubt Wanta's competency.
He continued the sentencing hearing until 1:30
p.m. Wednesday, when a psychiatrist or psychologist
will be appointed to examine Wanta.
To
be found incompetent to continue sentencing, it
must be shown that Wanta doesn't understand the
nature of the charges or that he is unable to
assist in his defense.
''I'm
sure he understands the nature of the charges,''
testified Milwaukee psychologist Samuel Friedman.
''I'm questioning the ability to cooperate in
his defense.''
Friedman
said he believes Wanta suffers from a psychotic
illness. Against the position of his attorneys,
Wanta argued he is competent to be sentenced.
''I
really feel I am innocent,'' he said. ''I'm competent.
Apparently, I had to be incompetent to trust my
handlers in the United States government.''
But
state Assistant Attorney General Douglas Haag
argued that Wanta's endless stream of claims is
part of an elaborate scam.
''The
essence of Mr. Wanta's success is precisely the
reason that defense counsel and the defense psychologist
give for Mr. Wanta's incompetence,'' he said.
Friedman
said Wanta's gestures and facial expressions fit
his psychotic diagnosis.
''He
indeed could be a genius in this regard, but I
doubt it,'' Friedman said. ''He can't control
his delusional system.''
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Document 4 of 13
Copyright
1995 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Wisconsin
State Journal
May
15, 1995, Monday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION:
Local/Wisconsin, Pg. 2B, IN THE COURTS
LENGTH:
402 words
HEADLINE:
NONDESCRIPT MAN HAS WILD TALES TO TELL
BYLINE:
By Marv Balousek; Wisconsin State Journal
BODY:
The
tax evasion trial of Leo Wanta last week before
Dane County Judge Michael Torphy had all the elements
of a fiction thriller: espionage, international
intrigue, assassination attempts.
The
trouble was that these events apparently took
place mostly in Wanta's mind. Instead of the high
drama of a spy trial, the case had the unfortunate
air of one man's tragedy. Despite his delusions
and a stint at Mendota Mental Health Institute,
Wanta was found competent to stand trial. His
testimony last week was matter-of-fact and full
of details. In fact, he appeared to lack the evasiveness
one might expect from a true secret agent.
A
small, round man with glasses, Wanta bears no
resemblance to James Bond except in the tales
he tells.
His
delusions, however, apparently extended worldwide.
Prosecutors said Wanta was arrested for fraud
in Singapore and Geneva, where he told Swiss authorities
he was a Somalian ambassador and a friend of Al
Gore.
When
the charges of failing to pay Wisconsin state
income taxes were filed against him, he claimed
diplomatic immunity. He was accused of setting
up several dummy corporations to launder money
through foreign banks.
On
Wednesday, Wanta tried to introduce three bulging
Airborne Express envelopes into evidence. He claimed
the envelopes provided proof that he worked as
a U.S. Treasury agent.
Prosecutor
Douglas Haag of the Attorney General's office
sifted through the material, finding hotel and
airline receipts but nothing with U.S. Treasury
markings.
Even
public defender John Chavez grew a little impatient
at times with his flamboyant and uncooperative
client.
Wanta
talked of how he rescued President Ronald Reagan
from an assassination attempt at the White House
and how he uncovered a covert Illinois group,
Itasca, which supplied arms to Israel.
Itasca
certainly sounds like it could make a great name
for a terrorist group. Unfortunately, it's probably
just the name of an Illinois city.
A
jury didn't believe Wanta's wild claims and found
him guilty of six counts of tax evasion for the
years 1988 and 1989.
''You
probably owe me money since you claim I'm a resident
of Wisconsin,'' Wanta hissed to Haag at one point
during the three-day trial. ''I moved from Wisconsin
in January of 1989 forever and ever and ever.''
Although
a sentencing date hasn't been set, now it looks
like Wanta will be in Wisconsin for a while.
EDITOR-NOTES:
Balousek
covers the Dane County courts. His column appears
weekly. Phone: 252-6142.
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5 of 13
Copyright
1995 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Capital
Times (Madison, WI.)
May
9, 1995, Tuesday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION:
Business, Pg. 6B
LENGTH:
374 words
HEADLINE:
FRAUD, TAX TRIAL BEGINS WILD RIDE
BYLINE:
BY PAT SCHNEIDER THE CAPITAL TIMES
BODY:
Even
Leo Wanta's attorney is calling it one of the
most bizarre cases he's ever seen.
Wanta,
55, went on trial Monday on fraud and tax evasion
charges before Dane County Circuit Judge Michael
Torphy.
Wanta
-- a self-described world businessman with ties
to the international commodities, currency and
arms markets -- is charged with failing to pay
state income taxes on about $ 500,000 in
the late 1980s. He is charged with four counts
of filing fraudulent tax returns and two counts
of tax evasion. Assistant Attorney General Douglas
Haag told jurors Monday that evidence will detail
how Wanta set up a series of dummy corporations
to launder money through Swiss, Chinese and American
banks. Wanta, of Appleton, then used the money
to pay off some crushing debts, said Haag.
''Money
was the one thing Leo Wanta needed almost as much
as being a big shot,'' Haag told jurors. The trial
is scheduled to continue today.
Defense
attorney John Chavez, in a sketchy opening statement,
told jurors that the state simply didn't understand
the finances of a man like Wanta.
Wanta
has told state officials that as a U.S. government
agent, he wasn't a Wisconsin resident during the
time the state says he was dodging taxes. He also
has told state investigators that the money on
which they say tax was due belonged to corporate
fronts set up by the government for his clandestine
activities. Wanta also has claimed diplomatic
immunity.
After
Wanta's arrest in late 1993, Torphy ordered mental
counseling for him, after being told that Wanta
had told a psychiatrist he has been a foreign
ambassador, worked for Israel's secret police,
helped the Defense Department plan the B-1 bomber
and expects to earn $ 4 billion a year.
After a stint at Mendota Mental Institute, Wanta
was found competent to stand trial.
Although
state officials have said that they believe Wanta
defrauded investors out of the $ 500,000
he failed to pay taxes on, Haag told jurors thaWanta
is facing only tax charges here. The government
will not go to the expense of mounting an international
fraud investigation, he said.
Chavez
gave jurors no clues Monday on what to expect
from the evidence, other than to warn them: ''Hold
on to your hats.''
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Copyright
1994 Yomiuri Report from Japan
The
Daily Yomiuri
October
2, 1994, Sunday
SECTION:
Pg. 11
LENGTH:
776 words
HEADLINE:
Mafia expose proves crime does pay--if you write
about it
BYLINE:
Tom Weverka ; Daily Yomiuri
DATELINE:
TOKYO
BODY:
THIEVES'
WORLD The Threat of the New Global Network of
Organized Crime
By
Claire Sterling Simon & Schuster. 394 pp.
$23
It
used to be said that any story about Abraham Lincoln,
a doctor or a dog could sell copies in the United
States. The same might be said about nonfiction
books on organized crime--in the United States
and many other countries. Few subjects arouse
more public ire or ring up sales as accounts of
Italian and Chinese gangs and other unscrupulous
foreigners invading the national turf and breaking
the law. Organized crime is a serious problem
that deserves public attention. But most books
on the subject merely draw on the underworld's
colorful characters and criminal exploits to entertain
the reader while ignoring the duller, legal side.
The
Sicilian Mafia, the Chinese Triads, and other
syndicates make most of their money through investments
in legitimate businesses. Their capital is as
attractive to companies and municipalities as
that of more principled financiers, and their
members often enjoy the same privileges as other
international businessmen.
Pablo
Escobar, the former head of Colombia's Medellin
cocaine cartel, traveled freely to the United
States for many years while his compatriot Gabriel
Garcia Marquez, a Nobel laureate, could not get
a visa. Any authentic examination of organized
crime needs to analyze this contradiction between
the scorn for the Mafia's criminal actions and
the lure of its money.
Claire
Sterling, one of the world's foremost experts
on organized crime, is capable of undertaking
such analysis. Unfortunately, she has attempted
and failed to do something much more difficult
in "Thieves' World." Her thesis here is that the
elite of the international underworld--Sicilian,
American, Colombian, Turkish, Russian, Chinese
and Japanese--has formed a pax mafiosa and is
slowly strangling the nearly 200 weak and divided
sovereign nations.
To
prove her point, she whisks the reader back and
forth between Europe, North America and Asia,
shrilly dropping names and crime statistics. One
finishes the book feeling like the guest at a
dinner party who has been briskly introduced to
everyone and remembers nothing. And some of her
claims are exaggerated or a little comical.
About
the yakuza, for instance, she writes that questionable
loans of $180 million by Nomura Securities to
an underworld figure nearly bankrupt the firm
in 1991. The Yamaguchi-gumi used to hire "worker
ants" as part of a money laundering scheme to
shop at Hermes and Luis Vuitton boutiques in Paris
for expensive items to be resold in Japan. Sterling
believes that the yakuza has "an unnerving, unseen
presence" in the United States, but she doesn't
elaborate on her cryptic remark.
Despite
these weaknesses, the book succeeds when she slows
her pace and examines white-collar crime by the
underworld. Her careful dissection of the Sicilian
and Russian mafias and their close connections
to corrupt government officials and businessmen
in their respective countries is excellent.
Italy
is the author's home, and she has kept a close
eye on the purge of the Sicilian Mafia, the anticorruption
trials, and the collapse of the political order
there. According to Sterling, the Mafia used to
deliver the winning votes to the Democratic Christian
Party in southern Italy in exchange for public
works contracts and the promise that judges would
drop criminal charges against underworld figures.
Politicians also exacted a percentage on all public
works contracts, and the money was divided between
the governing and opposition parties.
[check
this out–]
The
last chapters of the book describe an elaborate
scheme by Leo Wanta, an American businessman,
and several other white-collar criminals to control
international ruble markets, depress the value
of the currency, gain export licenses from corrupt
Russian officials, and ship raw materials and
weapons abroad at enormous profits. A fire sale
seems to be taking place in the former Soviet
republics, with underpaid bureaucrats ready to
sell all public assets to the highest bidder.
Sterling
concludes that the only way to effectively fight
organized crime is for nations to pool information
resources, standardize banking laws and criminal
codes, and rise above national politics and frontiers.
If nations go down in defeat in the war against
the international mafia, it will be largely due
to "patriotism, politics, accountable governments,
human rights, legal strictures, international
conventions, bureaucracy, diplomacy" and other
"baggage of statehood." Some of this baggage is
well worth keeping and shouldn't be sacrificed
merely to stop organized crime.
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7 of 13
Copyright
1993 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Capital
Times (Madison, WI.)
December
24, 1993, Friday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION:
Local/State Pg. 2B
LENGTH:
307 words
HEADLINE:
TAX SUSPECT CLAIMS RENO AS LAWYER
BODY:
A
man who tried to convince a court his 15 lawyers
include U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno was cautioned
by a judge that he should have brought one along
for a hearing on a $ 200,000 tax matter.
After
listening to Leo Wanta's explanations Thursday
for failing to appear in court in Madison with
an attorney, Judge Richard Nowakowski told him
he'd better have one in time for another Circuit
Court hearing Jan. 4.
Wanta,
of Appleton, is accused of owing more than $ 200,000
in state income tax. He was recently brought back
to the United States from Switzerland, where he
had been jailed on fraud charges. What was supposed
to be a preliminary hearing before Nowakowski
became an earful.
Wanta
said he should be represented by the U.S. Justice
Department because he has been a government agent
for the Customs Office and the CIA.
Besides
contacting Reno, he said, he has spoken with 14
lawyers. Nowakowski inquired whether Wanta really
thinks the government will be his counsel.
''I
will have the U.S. attorney for sure,'' Wanta
replied.
When
the court turned to the subject of bail, Wanta
claimed diplomatic immunity, saying he surrendered
his passport in October to become ambassador to
Somalia.
''I
should not be here,'' he said. ''I am a diplomat.''
Nowakowski
at last told Wanta to save jurisdictional subjects
for the Jan. 4 hearing.
''If
you fail to have legal representation at that
time, I am going to take that as a waiver of your
right to have legal counsel,'' he cautioned.
Wanta
said he would make arrangements through his Swiss
bank to raise money for bond and lawyers. He suggested
Nowakowski could help by reducing bail.
Nowakowski
concluded the discussion with $ 90,000 bail, saying
the sum is ''amply justified'' to discourage Wanta
from fulfilling any travel plans he might have
in mind.
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Copyright 1993 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Capital
Times (Madison, WI.)
December
15, 1993, Wednesday, SECOND EDITION
SECTION:
Local/State Pg. 6A
LENGTH:
263 words
HEADLINE:
JAIL HOLDS 'GLOBAL BUSINESSMAN'
SOURCE:
By Jeff Richgels The Capital Times
BODY:
The
Dane County Jail is the new home for a man who
claims to have done business across the globe.
Leo
Wanta, 53, who gave his address as the Somalia
Consulate in Toronto, Canada, remains jailed on
$ 90,000 cash bail today. Wanta was charged Tuesday
in Dane County Circuit Court with two counts of
filing false tax returns and four counts of tax
evasion.
He
allegedly owes more than $ 237,000 in taxes to
the state of Wisconsin for the years 1986 to 1989.
He also allegedly concealed assets the state was
trying to seize for the tax liability.
Wanta
claimed no income for those years. He said that
his debts were the reponsibility of the U.S. government
because he was an agent working for it and that
his business - New Republic-USA Financial Group
Limited - was a front for covert government operations,
according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators
who have been tracking Wanta, however, say he
is a crook who has defrauded people worldwide.
In
one scheme outlined in the complaint, he apparently
cost European investors about $ 500,000 claiming
to be a currency trader with interests in China.
In
court Tuesday, state officials said Wanta had
been deported from Switzerland last month and
arrested upon his return to the United States.
Wanta
contested the accusations that he has been arrested
for fraud in Singapore, Thailand and Geneva, where
he apparently told Swiss officials he was the
Somalian ambassador and a friend of Al Gore.
He
claimed to be a legitimate businessman from Vienna,
Austria, who owns a corporate home in Appleton.
The
Associated Press
The
materials in the AP file were compiled by The
Associated Press. These materials may not be republished
without the express written consent of The Associated
Press.
April
9, 1988, Saturday, PM cycle
SECTION:
Washington Dateline
LENGTH:
488 words
HEADLINE:
Proposed Gun Deal Exposed by Panamanian Officer
BYLINE:
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
A
rebel member of Panama's Defense Forces has smuggled
out a memo detailing the efforts of military strongman
Manuel Antonio Noriega to buy thousands of pistols
from an American arms dealer.
The
memo, marked "urgent" and "confidential," was
sent to Noriega on April 1 by Leo Wanta, president
of AmeriChina Global Management Group Inc., an
arms exporting firm based in Appleton, Wis.
The
document offered fresh evidence of Noriega's intention
to ride out Panama's prolonged political crisis
partly with help of a large infusion of foreign
weapons. A Defense Forces defector said last month
he had helped fly to Panama 94,000 pounds of weapons
from Cuba. In what appeared to be a major security
breach aimed at blocking the purchase by his boss,
the unidentified officer leaked the memo to a
Panamanian opposition leader. The memo was turned
over to The Associated Press on condition the
leader be identified neither by name nor location.
Wanta
told Noriega in the memo that the supplier of
the weapons had advised that "they are ready to
finalize the delivery" of the Browning 9mm semi-automatic
pistols made in Belgium.
The
schedule called for the delivery of 5,000 pistols
immediately and 2,000 per month thereafter until
"all units are delivered."
The
memo did not specify how many weapons were to
be sent all told. But a previous memo by Wanta,
obtained last month by the AP, said the purchase
involved 30,000 pistols, including the 5,000 to
be sent immediately. The list price is $398 each.
The
earlier memo was given to the AP by Panamanian
Ambassador Juan B. Sosa. Wanta had sent a telecopy
of the memo to Sosa, unaware that the envoy had
broken with Noriega and continues to regard ousted
President Eric Arturo Delvalle as the country's
constitutional leader. Sosa has refused to relinquish
the embassy to a replacement envoy named by the
new government in Panama.
Wanta
sent the April 1 memo directly to Noriega, bypassing
the embassy here. A stamp in the upper left hand
corner of the communication said it was received
by the Panamanian Defense Forces on April 5.
The
pistols are manufactured by Fabrique Nationale,
S.A., of Belgium and are to be delivered from
that country to Panama, according to the memo.
The State Department raised the issue late last
month with the Belgian firm, which said that it
had not had contact with anyone from AmeriChina,
a U.S. official said.
The
government cannot legally block the sale because
the weapons are not of American origin. The U.S.
official, insisting on anonymity, said AmeriChina
has not registered with the U.S. government, a
requirement he said applies to all American arms
dealers.
Wanta
could not be reached for comment. The company
phone number that appeared on the first memo was
deleted from the second memo. The phone has been
"temporarily disconnected," according to a recorded
announcement. The only address listed is a post
office box.
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The
Associated Press
The
materials in the AP file were compiled by The
Associated Press. These materials may not be republished
without the express written consent of The Associated
Press.
April
8, 1988, Friday, AM cycle
SECTION:
Washington Dateline
LENGTH:
597 words
HEADLINE:
Secret Memo on Arms Deal Leaked by Panamanian
Military
BYLINE:
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
A
secret memo outlining a plan by Panamanian strongman
Manuel Antonio Noriega to acquire thousands of
semi-automatic pistols has been leaked to an opposition
leader by a rebel member of Panama's military.
The
proposed acquisition of the Browning 9mm pistols
is part of a sizable weapons buildup by Panama's
Defense Forces that got under way shortly after
Panama's crisis began six weeks ago with Noriega's
ouster of President Eric Arturo Delvalle.
The
memo was sent to Noriega on April 1 by Leo Wanta,
president of AmeriChina Global Management Group
Inc., an arms exporting firm based in Appleton,
Wis. Wanta told Noriega in the memo that the supplier
of the weapons had advised that "they are ready
to finalize the delivery" of the pistols.
The
schedule called for the delivery of 5,000 pistols
immediately and 2,000 per month thereafter until
"all units are delivered."
The
memo did not specify how many weapons were to
be sent all told. But a previous memo by Wanta,
obtained by The Associated Press last month, said
the purchase involved 30,000 pistols, including
the 5,000 to be sent immediately. The list price
is $398 each.
The
earlier memo was given to the AP by Panamanian
Ambassador Juan B. Sosa. Wanta had sent a telecopy
of the memo to Sosa, unaware that the envoy had
broken with Noriega and continues to regard Delvalle
as the legitimate president of Panama. Sosa has
refused to relinquish the embassy to a replacement
envoy named by the new government in Panama.
Wanta
sent the April 1 memo directly to Noriega, bypassing
the embassy here. A stamp in the upper left hand
corner of the communication said it was received
by the Defense Forces on April 5.
The
memo was leaked by a Defense Force officer to
a Panamanian opposition leader, who turned over
a copy to the AP on condition he not be identified
either by name or location.
The
pistols are manufactured by Fabrique Nationale,
S.A., of Belgium and are to be delivered from
that country to Panama, according to the memo.
The State Department raised the issue late last
month with the Belgian firm, which said that it
had not had contact with anyone from AmeriChina,
a U.S. official said.
The
U.S. government cannot legally block the sale
because the weapons are not of American origin.
The U.S. official, insisting on anonymity, said
AmeriChina has not registered with the U.S. government,
a requirement he said applies to all American
arms dealers.
Wanta
could not be reached for comment. The company
phone number that appeared on the first memo was
deleted from the second memo. The phone has been
"temporarily disconnected," according to a recorded
announcement. The only address listed is a post
office box.
Concerning
Panama's arms buildup, a Panamanian pilot who
defected from the Defense Forces last month said
he and two other pilots flew 94,000 pounds of
weapons to Panama from Cuba on Noriega's behalf
a few days after the political turmoil in Panama
erupted.
Another
aspect of the military buildup is a training program
for thousands of Panamanians, who have formed
into volunteer units known as "Dignity Brigades"
to repel what the government says is an imminent
U.S. invasion.
Some
of the brigades are being trained in the use of
M-16 rifles. The two memos sent by Wanta make
reference to a possible deal with the Defense
Forces involving M-16s.
A
U.S. official said the transfer of M-16s to Panama
would require U.S. government approval because
they are manufactured by an American company,
Colt Industries. He added that the government
would disapprove any such request.
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11.
Copyright
1988 The Times Mirror Company
Los
Angeles Times
March
27, 1988, Sunday, Home Edition
SECTION:
Part 1; Page 27; Column 1; Foreign Desk
LENGTH:
654 words
HEADLINE:
RIVAL FACTIONS SHARE BUILDING;
PANAMA'S
U.S. EMBASSY: IT OPERATES ON TWO LEVELS
BYLINE:
By DON SHANNON, Times Staff Writer
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
Panama's
embassy here is a house divided -- even subdivided
-- by the struggle for national leadership at
home.
Ambassador
Juan B. Sosa, loyal to deposed President Eric
A. Delvalle and recognized by the Reagan Administration,
holds the keys to the building and has an office
on the upper floor. He also controls the first-floor
entry area, where a portrait of Delvalle is prominently
displayed on the wall.
At
the rear of the lower floor, however, is the office
of Roberto Leyton, Panama's envoy to the Organization
of American States. Leyton remains loyal to Panama's
military strongman, Gen. Manuel A. Noriega, and
his office displays a large poster of a smiling
Noriega wearing fatigues. Even the second floor
is not all Delvalle's. Capt. Jose S. Motta continues
to function on the upper floor as Panama's military
attache, although he does not acknowledge Sosa
as his boss.
"It's
peaceful coexistence," Flavio Mendez, second deputy
to Sosa, said in an interview Friday.
"We
like him (Motta) and we talk," Mendez said. "All
of us in the building are on good terms -- after
all, we're Panamanians."
But
nobody, no matter whose side he's on, is getting
paid.
Leyton
gets a check from the government of President
Manuel Solis Palma, who was installed by Noriega's
compliant legislature when Delvalle was fired
after he tried and failed to dislodge Noriega.
But
Leyton said that his paycheck is drawn on a New
York bank account that, along with other Panamanian
assets in the United States, has been frozen by
a U.S. court at Delvalle's request.
Sosa,
Mendez and other embassy staff members who have
declared for Delvalle get no checks at all.
"It's
only been 20 days," Mendez said, "and we're living
on savings."
Leyton
said he was annoyed that U.S. courts allowed Delvalle
to control Panama's assets.
"It
sets a bad precedent because the (Panamanian)
constitution does not give the executive total
financial power," Leyton said. "We have an elected
comptroller, and the national legislature has
a voice in money decisions also."
Leyton
said that Panama's ambassador to the United Nations,
Jose Eduardo Ritter, is seeking legal counsel
to contest the freeze order. Ritter is a Noriega
loyalist, but another Panamanian diplomat in New
York -- the consul general -- backs Delvalle.
"Incidentally,"
Leyton said, "I don't like being called a Noriega
man, because I represent the government of my
country. I am the ambassador of my country to
the OAS."
Leyton,
who retained his seat in the OAS in the face of
a challenge from a Delvalle representative, said
he hopes that the political dilemma will be resolved
before the "destruction of the economy." All the
political parties must be brought into a national
dialogue, he said.
"The
only way is if we all sit at the same table,"
Leyton said. "Time is running out and national
elections are coming in 1989."
The
divided loyalties of the Panamanian diplomats
in Washington have bred some semi-comic cases
of mistaken identity.
A
Wisconsin arms exporter called the embassy last
week, for example, to discuss an order by the
Noriega regime for up to 30,000 Belgian semiautomatic
pistols. But the exporter, Leo Wanta, president
of AmeriChina Global Management Group, was connected
not to a Noriega loyalist but to Sosa, who asked
for a copy of the arms deal.
Sosa
promptly told the U.S. government about the deal.
"I'm not going to give Panama nothing now," Wanta
was quoted by the Milwaukee Journal as saying.
Although
earlier reports said that Wanta lacked State Department
authorization to sell arms abroad, Wanta said
that he had applied to the department for a license
that would have allowed him to earn $10 per weapon.
State
Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said Friday
that the sale had been investigated but that,
because the weapons would actually be shipped
from Belgium to Panama, the United States could
not legally bar the deal.
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12.
Copyright
1988 U.P.I.
March
25, 1988, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION:
Washington News
LENGTH:
345 words
BYLINE:
By NEIL ROLAND
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
Panamanian
Ambassador to the United States Juan Sosa said
Friday he was informed last week of a proposal
by a Wisconsin dealer to deliver as many as 25,000
pistols to Panamanian strongman Gen. Manuel Antonio
Noriega.
In
a telephone interview with United Press International,
Sosa said he was informed of the proposal by an
official of AmeriChina Global Management Group
of Appleton, Wis.
''This
is one more proof he (Noriega) is digging in and
has no intention of leaving'' Panama, Sosa said.
Noriega, who faces criminal drug charges in the
United States, continued to resist the mounting
economic and political pressures from the opposition
in his own country and the United States.
Sosa
said an official of AmeriChina, at his request,
sent him a telecopy of the proposed arms deal
on Monday.
The
proposal involved the shipment 5,000 semi-automatic
pistols to Noriega immediately, followed by an
additional 25,000 pistols at 2,000 a month. The
guns were to be sent from Antwerp, Belgium.
Sosa
has remained loyal to Eric Arturo Delvalle, who
was ousted as president by Noriega. He said the
telecopied arms proposal had been sent by AmeriChina
President Leo Wanta and addressed to Noriega.
Sosa said Wanta apparently was under the impression
he was still loyal to Noriega.
Wanta
was not immediately available, but he was quoted
in the Milwaukee Journal Thursday as saying, ''I'm
just upset that Sosa is lying like hell. I'm not
going to give Panama nothing now.''
Wanta,
describing himself as an independent contractor,
told the Journal he had applied for the gun deal
with the State Department and that he had a classification
that allowed him to act as the middleman to sell
weapons to ''recognized countries sanctioned by
the United States.''
Wanta
said he would make $10 on each gun, which had
been priced at $398 for Noriega.
At
the State Department, spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley
said her agency has looked into the matter. She
said although ''it is not a healthy, positive
development,'' the United States lacks legal authority
to stop the sale. JUAN SOSA (95%); MANUEL
ANTONIO NORIEGA (94%); LEO WANTA (90%);
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13.
The
Associated Press
The
materials in the AP file were compiled by The
Associated Press. These materials may not be republished
without the express written consent of The Associated
Press.
March
24, 1988, Thursday, PM cycle
SECTION:
Washington Dateline
LENGTH:
643 words
BYLINE:
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
Panamanian
strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega is trying to
arrange through a U.S. arms dealer for the immediate
delivery of 5,000 semi-automatic pistols to his
military forces, according to a secret document.
Coupled
with the reported acquisition of large quantities
of weapons from Cuba in recent days, the proposed
purchase of the pistols indicates that Noriega
may be intent on using force to remain in power,
U.S. officials said Wednesday.
A
proposal by the U.S. dealer promises delivery
of an additional 25,000 pistols at the rate of
2,000 a month. A Panamanian Defense Force major
who defected last Friday said over the weekend
that Cuba recently had provided Panama with 94,000
pounds of weapons, including large numbers of
AK-47 rifles. A general strike protesting Noriega's
continued rule has left the country virtually
paralyzed, but Noriega has given no sign that
he intends to step down as commander of the Defense
Forces.
The
dealer which is arranging for the export of the
Belgian-made Browning 9mm pistols is AmeriChina
Global Management Group of Appleton, Wis.
A
copy of the proposed transaction, marked "urgent"
and "confidential" was provided to The Associated
Press by Panamanian Ambassador Juan B. Sosa. He
was informed of the possible transaction last
Saturday by AmeriChina President Leo Wanta.
Sosa
said Wanta discussed the deal with him unaware
that Sosa had broken with Noriega almost a month
ago and has remained loyal to ousted President
Eric Arturo Delvalle. At Sosa's request, Wanta
sent him a telecopy of the proposed deal, which
was addressed to Noriega and to his chief of Ordnance
Services, Lt. Col. Eugenio Corro. The arms package
is worth more than $10 million.
State
Department officials said there was no legal way
the U.S. government could block the transaction
because the pistols are not of U.S. origin.
But
they expressed keen interest in a reference at
the bottom of proposal to an apparent request
by the Panamanian military for M-16 rifles. The
reference asked whether Panama had reached any
decision on the "procurement-delivery" of the
M-16's.
Any
such request would require U.S. approval and would
be rejected, said the State Department officials,
insisting on anonymity.
The
M-16 is manufactured by Colt Industries, based
in New York City. A Colt official, who asked not
to be identified, said Colt would never export
the M-16 without U.S. government approval.
The
State Department officials said they had no record
of any company by the name of AmeriChina. They
said all companies that manufacture or export
weapons must register with the government and
that failure to do so carries stiff penalties.
Reached
by telephone at his Wisconsin office, Wanta asked
how the AP had obtained a copy of his memo to
Noriega and was indignant when he was told of
Sosa's role.
"You
tell Sosa he will have a lot of explaining to
do in about 12 minutes," Wanta said. He then hung
up.
Sosa
said that in his conversation last Saturday with
Wanta, the arms dealer had asked for Panama's
military attache but Sosa took the call himself
because the attache no longer shows up at the
embassy.
Sosa
said he felt it was his duty to make the proposed
deal public because of the possibility that the
weapons might be used against the Panamanian people.
The
pistols are to be sent to Panama from Antwerp,
Belgium, the country where the weapon was originally
commissioned more than 50 years ago.
The
weapons are described as "high-power" with fixed
sights. The price listed is $398 each.
The
delivery schedule calls for shipment of 5,000
of the pistols immediately and an additional 2,000
units per month thereafter "until 25,000 units
are delivered."
There
are an estimated 10,000 to 11,000 members of Panama's
Defense Forces. They are supplemented by undisclosed
numbers of paramilitary forces and militia.
Document
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