British businessman accused of selling missile parts to Iran pleads guilty in Texas court

EL PASO, Texas - A British man accused of trying to buy missile parts from undercover American agents and resell them to Iran pleaded guilty Thursday in a deal that would carry nearly three years in prison but could allow him to serve much of that time in his nativeUnited Kingdom.

Christopher Tappin, 66, had faced charges of conspiracy to illegally export defence articles, aiding and abetting the illegal export of defence articles and conspiracy to conduct illegal financial transactions.

He pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment Thursday in a hearing in El Paso. The deal calls for 33 months in prison, but as part of the agreement, prosecutors have agreed not to oppose his request to be transferred back to his home country.

U.S. District Judge David Briones will decide Tappin's sentence Jan. 9.

The retired British businessman has been living in an upscale Houston neighbourhood since his release on a $1 million bond in April.

The federal indictment filed in 2007 said a co-operating defendant provided computer files showing Tappin intended to send surface-to-air-missile batteries to a Tehran-based company and that he and the co-operating defendant had illegally sold U.S. technology to Iran in the past.

The U.S. government alleged Tappin provided undercover agents with false documents to deceive authorities and circumvent the requirement for the batteries to be licensed by the government before being exported.

Tappin's extradition in February touched a nerve in Britain, where many contend the fast-track extradition arrangements between the U.K. and the U.S. are unfairly weighted in Washington's favour.

But Tappin's attorney, Dan Cogdell, said on Thursday that he didn't see much room for argument.

"He pled guilty because he was guilty," Cogdell said.

Tappin remained free on bond pending his sentencing. Cogdell said he expected Tappin to serve several months in a U.S. prison while authorities in Washington and the United Kingdom decide whether to extradite him.

Tappin fought extradition to the United States for two years until being denied a petition to take the case to Britain's Supreme Court. After he was brought to Texas, Tappin was held at the Otero County Jail for about two months, where he initially was put in solitary confinement at his request.

Two men have already been sentenced to prison for charges stemming from the indictment. Robert Gibson, another British national, pleaded guilty in April 2007 and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Robert Caldwell, from Oregon, was found guilty in July of that year and received a 20-month sentence.

Bodies of Two Boys Washed Away By Sandy Found
By Christina Ng | ABC News Blogs – 12 hrs ago

The bodies of two young boys who were washed away by Sandy's floodwaters as their horrified mother watched were found today in a marshy area, according to police.

The 2-year-old and 4-year-old boys disappeared on the New York City borough of Staten Island Monday night when waves caused by storm surges crashed into the family's SUV while they were driving, according to ABC News' New York station WABC.

The boys were pulled into powerful waters after their mom put them on the roof of her car when rushing waters caused the car to stall, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, according to the AP. The family had been on their way to a shelter.

"She put the two boys on the roof of the car to avoid the water, and then another large wave came, and it apparently washed them away," Kelly said. "Of course, the mother was totally, completely distraught. She started looking for them herself, asking people to help her look."

The search continued until the bodies were found at the end of a dead-end street.

"Terrible, absolutely terrible," Kelly said. "It just compounds all the tragic aspects of this horrific event."

The parents of the missing children were at the scene where the bodies were discovered, according to WABC.

Superstorm Sandy killed at least 80 people in the United States, according to the Associated Press. The storm resulted in massive flooding, power outages and widespread destruction on the East Coast.

Also Read

Police arrest couple in Pakistan for allegedly killing daughter with acid for 'family honour'

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani officials say police have arrested a couple for allegedly killing their 15-year-old daughter by throwing acid on her because she supposedly had an affair with a boy.

Local government official Masood-ur-Rehman says the couple was arrested Tuesday inPakistan-administered Kashmir.

Police officer Imtiaz Ali says the parents confessed to killing the girl a day earlier because they believed she had sullied the family's honour.

He said Friday that an autopsy confirmed that the girl died of acid burns.

Honour killings are widespread in Pakistan, where scores of women are murdered every year for marriages or relationships not approved by their families.

Driver Kicks Autistic Girl Off Schoolbus, Literally

A Florida school bus driver, Stephanie Wilkerson, has been arrested for literally kicking an autistic girl off her bus.

Yes, the driver actually used her foot to apply force to an 8-year-old student as she was going down the bus’s stairs. The child fell and fractured her ankle. The incident, which was recorded in a surveillance camera, occurred on September 28 after the bus pulled up at Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary School.

As the Tampa Bay Times says, before the incident, the child was trying to get off the bus and Wilkerson told her to wait her turn. The child reportedly slapped and pushed the driver.

As school district spokesperson Scott Hegarty emphasizes, “It doesn’t matter what preceded [Wilkerson kicking the child]. That kind of behavior is not acceptable.”

Bus Driver Faces Felony Charge

Someone from the school contacted the Florida Abuse Hotline on October 2. Detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office child abuse division undertook an investigation before passing the case to the Tampa Police Department. On October 25, Wilkerson was arrested at the Hillsborough County Public Schools Transportation facility and held in jail without bail. She now faces a felony charge of aggravated child abuse. The Hillsborough School District has put Wilkerson on paid leave.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Wilkerson had previously been arrested in Florida in 1996, on charges of petty theft and otaining property with a worthless check. While state records show that she has a valid drivers license allowing her to drive a school bus, she had had her license suspended four times since November 2009, for not paying traffic fines and for lapses in insurance. She had been hired in 2008 by the Hillsborough School District and had not had any altercations with students, nor had there been concerns about her driving.

As Hegarty said in words that are at least a bit alarming to parents of children with disabilities like myself, “To be a bus driver, you need to have a good, safe driving record,” Hegarty said. “It doesn’t mean it has to be spotless.”

School Bus Drivers Have Extra Responsibilities When Driving Kids With Disabilities

As if Wilkerson’s kicking an autistic student was not already deeply troubling, Hegarty’s statement about drivers’ records as not having to be “spotless” is less than reassuring to me as a parent of an autistic child and one who is only minimally verbal and therefore unable to tell what might or might not have happened on the school bus.

Like thousands of parents across the U.S., I entrust my son daily to the school bus driver and the bus matron or aide who assists students on the bus (it’s not clear if there was such an aide on the bus Wilkerson was driving). My son attends a county autism center and spends over an hour plus on the bus to travel both to and from school as a number of other children are picked up and, and on the return trip dropped off, in many different towns.