- Just two weeks after American news network Fox News revealed
shocking reports of Israeli spies trying to infiltrate the United States,
more disturbing links to Israel have been uncovered last Friday.
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- A former US engineer admitted to a federal court that
he smuggled 50 electronic devices to Israel that could be used for triggering
nuclear bombs.
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- The man, Richard Kelly Smyth, has been a fugitive in
Spain for the last 16 years, reportedly living quietly in the countryside
until he decided to open a bank account. Carrying out a routine check on
his identity, the Spanish bank found a US arrest warrant and had Smyth
arrested.
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- Smyth pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to a 1985 charge
that he illegally exported a shipment of krytrons to Israel in 1982 without
the appropriate U.S. licenses.
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- His guilty plea to one count of violating the Arms Export
Control Act and one count of making a false statement to the Customs Service
was expected to land him in federal prison for up to seven years when he
is sentenced on Feb. 28.
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- The devises, krytrons, which Smyth illegally smuggled
to Israel were described by the U.S. Attorney's office as "small devices
that transfer precise bursts of energy."
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- "The devices can be used in nuclear weapons, in
other military applications," the prosecutors indicated in a statement
released Friday.
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- The Israeli government however, which has been caught
spying on the US in the past, maintained that it had purchased the krytrons
sent by Smyth's Orange County firm from Heli Trading Corp., an Israeli
vendor, for purely conventional research purposes and not for use in nuclear
weapons. It also claims that it was not aware of U.S. export restrictions.
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- The US court however is refusing to accept the Israeli
explanation considering Israel's possession of weapons of mass destruction.
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