domingo, abril 17, 2005

AL PAPA NEGRO se le escapará un "¡glups!":
A South Korean businessman, once at the center of an influence-peddling scandal involving 187 U.S. congressmen, has resurfaced and been charged with lobbying for Iraq's former leader, Saddam Hussein, in return for $2 million.
Federal prosecutors in New York have sought an arrest warrant for Park Tongsun, accusing him of receiving secret payments from Saddam's administration in return for acting as an agent between the Iraqi regime and UN officials. The U.S. investigators accused Mr. Park of attempting to bribe a senior UN official to assist Saddam's attempts to abuse a UN-led humanitarian program for Iraq. The UN official was not named.
In a telephone interview from Japan, Mr. Park, 70, told the Joongang Ilbo that he had been offered a plea-bargain from the U.S. federal prosecution in return for testifying before a U.S. court. "I am seriously considering the offer," Mr. Park said. "The prosecutors only accused me of acting as an unregistered agent, and have not pressed official charges against me yet."
If convicted, he could face up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
Mr. Park claimed that the U.S. federal investigators' target is corrupt, high-ranking UN officials involved in the UN-led oil-for-food program for Iraq. He alleged that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is among the targets.
(via The Command Post)