Plano man admits illegally smuggling U.S. space technology to China, Russia
A Plano businessman pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to smuggling radiation-protected microchips used in space exploration to China and Russia, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Peter A. Zuccarelli, 62, was charged in June by the U.S. attorney with conspiracy to smuggle goods out of the U.S. and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Zuccarelli's eyeglass lens coating companies were mired in financial troubles when prosecutors say he tried to profit from the scheme, according to public records.
He used one of his eyeglass lens companies, American Coating Technologies, to buy the microchips from two American manufacturers, according to the charging document filed by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/08/03/plano-man-admits-illegally-smuggling-us-space-technology-china-russia
Cross-posted in the National Security & Defense Group.
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