Carbine affair

The Carbine affair, also known as the Carbine wives affair, started on March 10, 1992, when German federal authorities taking part in a sting operation jointly with its U.S. counterpart, FBI, arrested in Frankfurt am Main, eight persons suspected in pending illegal weapons to the Middle East countries including Iraq. The alleged $96-million deal supposedly included to provide 4,000 grenade launchers, 1,000 portable anti-aircraft missiles, and 73,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles to the insurgents. Two American and six Polish nationals were extradited to the US and tried by the court of law in the U.S. District in Brooklyn, NY. All of the six Polish suspects were notable officials in the former People's Republic of Poland - Jerzy Napiórkowski, deputy minister of finance in the last Polish Communist government; Wojciech Barański, former deputy chief of staff in the Polish army; Jan Górecki, a former Polish diplomat in Washington; Zbigniew Grabowski, former director of the Polish technology office; Jerzy Brzostek, former deputy minister of the Polish Housing Ministry; and Rajmund Szwonder, general manager of the Łucznik armament factory in Radom, Poland. Due to friendly relationship between USA and Poland back in 1993 and to Polish president Lech Walesa diplomacy, the suspects were offered a deal: "plea guilty and go home". They refused to do that, following advice of their attorney Alan Drezin, and of the wives of three them, who also came to Brooklyn to plead the innocence of their husbands with the jury. The jury has awarded them "not guilty" verdict due to lack of substantial evidence, not provided by the US government, that they've dealt with real terrorists or arms smugglers, though it happened after months spent in jail. Just before the trial, an attorney representing the wives, explained in an interview made for a local Polish TV station in New York, that their real agenda was as in script: "honey, stay in jail as long as you can, and then we make another bundle". Since then on, the Polish community in New York started to call them somewhat ironically the "carbine wives".The US government paid restitution of course. The suspects returned as heroes to Poland, some of them are now very respectable citizens.

Newspaper articles

* [http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iraq/Missile/3879_4031.html NTI/Los Angeles Times]
* [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00616FD3A5A0C758CDDA00894DB494D81 New York Times]
* [http://expatpol.com/index.php?stsid=29884&kid=13&cktst=1 Polonia News]