Spring Break
Informants allege proposed Blackwater weapons dump
Associated Press
Issue date: 5/7/09 Section: News
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A defense contractor charged with trying to smuggle firearms out of Iraq claimed Blackwater guards asked him to help get rid of weapons after a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, two government informants say in court documents.
The contractor told one of the informants that Blackwater guards wanted to dispose of the weapons before an investigation into the September 2007 shooting that left several civilians dead, according to a criminal complaint filed in the smuggling case. The contractor, John Houston, did not work for Blackwater.
Both informants, whose names weren't revealed by federal investigators, were Army reservists stationed in Iraq. Houston approached them for help with smuggling, the complaint states, and one of them tipped off investigators about the scheme.
Five Blackwater guards face manslaughter and weapons charges in the shooting, which prosecutors say was an unprovoked attack on civilians. The shooting strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led Iraqi leaders to order Blackwater out of the country.
A spokeswoman said the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe, only recently learned of Houston's claims and has never been contacted by investigators about them.
"This individual's claims may make for a juicy story, but time may tell a more truthful one," spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said in a release.
Houston, a retired Special Forces soldier, was indicted last week in federal court in Maryland on a charge of conspiracy to smuggle firearms into the United States and attempted smuggling. Houston was working with New York-based SOS International Ltd. at the time of the 2007 shooting but left the company a year later to work for another defense contractor.
A second man, Michael Henson, was charged with the same attempted smuggling counts and making false statements. Court documents do not describe Henson's employer or role in Iraq.
An attorney for Houston did not return a call seeking comment, and court documents didn't list an attorney for Henson.
The contractor told one of the informants that Blackwater guards wanted to dispose of the weapons before an investigation into the September 2007 shooting that left several civilians dead, according to a criminal complaint filed in the smuggling case. The contractor, John Houston, did not work for Blackwater.
Both informants, whose names weren't revealed by federal investigators, were Army reservists stationed in Iraq. Houston approached them for help with smuggling, the complaint states, and one of them tipped off investigators about the scheme.
Five Blackwater guards face manslaughter and weapons charges in the shooting, which prosecutors say was an unprovoked attack on civilians. The shooting strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led Iraqi leaders to order Blackwater out of the country.
A spokeswoman said the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe, only recently learned of Houston's claims and has never been contacted by investigators about them.
"This individual's claims may make for a juicy story, but time may tell a more truthful one," spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said in a release.
Houston, a retired Special Forces soldier, was indicted last week in federal court in Maryland on a charge of conspiracy to smuggle firearms into the United States and attempted smuggling. Houston was working with New York-based SOS International Ltd. at the time of the 2007 shooting but left the company a year later to work for another defense contractor.
A second man, Michael Henson, was charged with the same attempted smuggling counts and making false statements. Court documents do not describe Henson's employer or role in Iraq.
An attorney for Houston did not return a call seeking comment, and court documents didn't list an attorney for Henson.
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