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| '''Lester Knox Coleman III''' was the co-author of the 1993 book ''], The Untold Story of Pan Am 103'', in which he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the 1988 terrorist bombing.<ref name="timemag"/> Coleman claimed he was at one point employed by the United States ] (DEA)<ref name="Scam">{{cite web|url=http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=1314|title=PanAm Scam. How two self-styled intelligence agents took the news media for a ride.|publisher='']''|date=September 1992|accessdate=December 11, 2009}}</ref> Coleman further alleged that a compromised American covert drug-operation allowed Iranian-backed terrorists – the ], led by ] – to slip a ] bomb aboard the plane. <ref name="Book">{{cite book| last = Goddard| first = Donald | coauthors = Lester K. Coleman| title = Trail of the Octopus| date = October 27, 1993| pages = 320 | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing PLC| isbn = 074751562X}}</ref> On September 11, 1997, Coleman stated to a New York Federal court that "...he lied when he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the bombing..." In a plea agreement, Coleman was sentenced to time served. <ref name="Metronews">{{cite web |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E0D61039F931A2575AC0A961958260 |title = Metro News Briefs: New York; Informer Admits Lying In Pan Am Crash Case |date = 1997-09-12 |accessdate =2009-02-25 |publisher = '']''}}</ref> |
'''Lester Knox Coleman III''' ({{lang-ar|ليستر كولمان ك}}) was the co-author of the 1993 book ''], The Untold Story of Pan Am 103'', in which he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the 1988 terrorist bombing.<ref name="timemag"/> Coleman claimed he was at one point employed by the United States ] (DEA)<ref name="Scam">{{cite web|url=http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=1314|title=PanAm Scam. How two self-styled intelligence agents took the news media for a ride.|publisher='']''|date=September 1992|accessdate=December 11, 2009}}</ref> Coleman further alleged that a compromised American covert drug-operation allowed Iranian-backed terrorists – the ], led by ] – to slip a ] bomb aboard the plane. <ref name="Book">{{cite book| last = Goddard| first = Donald | coauthors = Lester K. Coleman| title = Trail of the Octopus| date = October 27, 1993| pages = 320 | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing PLC| isbn = 074751562X}}</ref> On September 11, 1997, Coleman stated to a New York Federal court that "...he lied when he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the bombing..." In a plea agreement, Coleman was sentenced to ''time served''. <ref name="Metronews">{{cite web |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E0D61039F931A2575AC0A961958260 |title = Metro News Briefs: New York; Informer Admits Lying In Pan Am Crash Case |date = 1997-09-12 |accessdate =2009-02-25 |publisher = '']''}}</ref> | ||
| ==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| {{Portalbox|Biography}} | |||
| * '']'', November 1992. | * '']'', November 1992. | ||
Revision as of 21:54, 21 September 2010
Lester Knox Coleman III (Template:Lang-ar) was the co-author of the 1993 book Trail of the Octopus, The Untold Story of Pan Am 103, in which he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the 1988 terrorist bombing. Coleman claimed he was at one point employed by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Coleman further alleged that a compromised American covert drug-operation allowed Iranian-backed terrorists – the PFLP-GC, led by Ahmed Jibril – to slip a Semtex bomb aboard the plane. On September 11, 1997, Coleman stated to a New York Federal court that "...he lied when he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the bombing..." In a plea agreement, Coleman was sentenced to time served.
Background
Although a Time magazine article on the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 states that Coleman was a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) agent, a later article in the American Journalism Review disputes that he ever worked for that agency. Coleman has said that he ran a DIA covert operation backing a Chrstian militia in Lebanon, known as the Lebanese Forces (Samir Ghea Ghea), during the Lebanese Civil War.
Coleman said he left the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus in 1988 and claims in his book that he was not engaged by the DIA again until 1990. According to him, he was told to apply for a passport using a former false identity used primarily for work with the DIA. That identity was to be a man named Thomas Leavy. In May 1990, as he prepared for his unknown job, Coleman was arrested by the FBI and charged with applying for a false passport.
In the book Coleman also claims he sought, and was granted, political sanctuary in Sweden and further claims in the book that after he was under Swedish protection he provided Pan American World Airways with a civil affidavit which cleared Pan Am of full responsibility for the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing.
References
- Notes
- ^ "Pan Am 103 Why Did They Die?". Time. April 27, 1992. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "PanAm Scam. How two self-styled intelligence agents took the news media for a ride". American Journalism Review. September 1992. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Goddard, Donald (October 27, 1993). Trail of the Octopus. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 320. ISBN 074751562X.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - "Metro News Briefs: New York; Informer Admits Lying In Pan Am Crash Case". New York Times. 1997-09-12. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Taking the Blame". London Review of Books - author, Paul Foot. January 6, 1994. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)