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Calif. man sentenced to 43 months for trying to sell fighter jet to Iran

Iran Materials 13 September 2011 11:37 (UTC +04:00)
A California man who admitted trying to sell a fighter jet and other items to Iran was sentenced to almost four years in prison Monday.
Calif. man sentenced to 43 months for trying to sell fighter jet to Iran

A California man who admitted trying to sell a fighter jet and other items to Iran was sentenced to almost four years in prison Monday, The Washington Post reported with reference to the Associated Press.

Marc Knapp, 36, told U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark that he regretted his conduct, which he suggested was the result of dire financial circumstances and his inability to find work after losing his $81,000-a-year job at a biotechnology company in 2007.

"I certainly have no animosity toward the United States of America," Knapp told the judge, saying he did not believe at the time that the items he was trying to sell posed any risk to national security.

Knapp faced a maximum of 30 years in prison, but attorneys agreed to ask for a sentence ranging from 30 to 57 months.

Knapp pleaded guilty in January to violating the International Emergencies Economic Powers Act and the Arms Export Control Act.

Other items Knapp tried to either sell or ship overseas in violation of U.S. law included an F-14 ejection seat, five flight suits that mitigate G-forces, four survival radios and an F-14 emergency operations manual.

In June 2010, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1929, imposing restrictions on the supply to Iran of conventional weapons, including missiles and missile systems , tanks, attack helicopters, warplanes and ships.

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