FBI STING THAT SPIKED BID TO BUY MISSILES
FBI sting that spiked bid to buy missiles
COLM Murphy was jailed for a year in the US in 1984 for trying to buy missiles, rifles and sub-machine guns from the New York Mafia - his last conviction before he was jailed yesterday for plotting the Omagh bombing. US court documents released to the Telegraph show that in March 1982, Murphy tried to buy weapons from an undercover FBI agent posing as a mobster.
When he was caught, Murphy tried to plead insanity as a result of "battle fatigue" caused by the Troubles.
Murphy was first introduced to Sydney Kail, an FBI informant, at a Manhattan bar. Murphy told Kail that he was in the INLA and wanted to buy "missiles, mortars and machine guns". Kail later introduced him to a "Mafia contact" - FBI undercover agent Lindley De Vecchio, who taped the conversation. Murphy told De Vecchio he needed SAM-7 missiles or "something that can take down a helicopter".
When De Vecchio said he couldn't get missiles, Murphy said he wanted M-16 machine guns and Ingram sub-machine guns for use "on the streets of Belfast".
He said he wanted a weapons "connection" on the US east coast, and if he got a decent deal, he would "be back with $180,000".
After two other meetings, the two met in a McDonald's restaurant in Queens, New York, with FBI agent Bruce Stephens posing as a Mafia bodyguard, and over a dozen FBI agents in surveillance.
The three men later went out to a car where Murphy introduced an accomplice and signed over thousands of pounds in travellers' cheques.
He was arrested on the spot, and during the subsequent trial tried to enter evidence that his family had been tortured and bombed by the British Army in Northern Ireland. A judge interrupted the defence and told a witness that the court "didn't want a lecture" about the political situation in Northern Ireland. He also rejected Murphy's attempts to claim insanity. Murphy was convicted of gun-running and sent to a Federal prison.
He returned to Ireland in 1985, and began his rapid rise to wealth in the building trade, while still a republican terrorist.
COLM Murphy was jailed for a year in the US in 1984 for trying to buy missiles, rifles and sub-machine guns from the New York Mafia - his last conviction before he was jailed yesterday for plotting the Omagh bombing. US court documents released to the Telegraph show that in March 1982, Murphy tried to buy weapons from an undercover FBI agent posing as a mobster.
When he was caught, Murphy tried to plead insanity as a result of "battle fatigue" caused by the Troubles.
Murphy was first introduced to Sydney Kail, an FBI informant, at a Manhattan bar. Murphy told Kail that he was in the INLA and wanted to buy "missiles, mortars and machine guns". Kail later introduced him to a "Mafia contact" - FBI undercover agent Lindley De Vecchio, who taped the conversation. Murphy told De Vecchio he needed SAM-7 missiles or "something that can take down a helicopter".
When De Vecchio said he couldn't get missiles, Murphy said he wanted M-16 machine guns and Ingram sub-machine guns for use "on the streets of Belfast".
He said he wanted a weapons "connection" on the US east coast, and if he got a decent deal, he would "be back with $180,000".
After two other meetings, the two met in a McDonald's restaurant in Queens, New York, with FBI agent Bruce Stephens posing as a Mafia bodyguard, and over a dozen FBI agents in surveillance.
The three men later went out to a car where Murphy introduced an accomplice and signed over thousands of pounds in travellers' cheques.
He was arrested on the spot, and during the subsequent trial tried to enter evidence that his family had been tortured and bombed by the British Army in Northern Ireland. A judge interrupted the defence and told a witness that the court "didn't want a lecture" about the political situation in Northern Ireland. He also rejected Murphy's attempts to claim insanity. Murphy was convicted of gun-running and sent to a Federal prison.
He returned to Ireland in 1985, and began his rapid rise to wealth in the building trade, while still a republican terrorist.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0820
Published Date: 23-Jan-02
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