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 native United Kingdom.
Christopher Tappin, 66, 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 the second 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. It also carries a fine of US$11,357, the amount of money he would have profited from missile parts deal for which he was indicted.
US District Judge David Briones will decide Tappin’s sentence January 9.
The retired British businessman has been living in an upscale Houston neighbourhood since his release on a US$1 million bond in April.
Tappin’s last half year in the US has been “as pleasant as time away from his family can be,” his lawyer Dan Cogdell said after the hearing. “He plays golf every day, he’s made new friends, but he is away from his family.”
Tappin’s wife, Elaine, said in a statement Thursday that she hoped her husband’s plea deal would mark the “beginning of the end” of her family’s ordeal. She added her “overwhelming feeling remains one of anxiety and sadness ... however at last I dare hope that Chris will be back on home soil next year.”
