20 Suspects Investigated in Navy F-14 Thefts Case

At least 20 people have been investigated as possible co-conspirators in a smuggling ring that was selling stolen U.S. aircraft parts to Iran, according to affidavits filed in U.S. District Court here.

Seven people have been charged in the case, but 20 individuals were identified as “suspected co-conspirators” in the scheme allegedly headed by Franklin P. Agustin, 47, who is accused of selling stolen F-14 Tomcat parts to an Iranian national living in London.

The suspects, many of them sailors and Navy employees from around the country, were named in an affidavit filed in San Diego on July 2 in support of continued telephone wiretapping of Agustin’s home and business. The affidavit was unsealed last week.

Six suspects in the San Diego-based ring are being held without bail in the United States. The seventh suspect is in London.

Held in Jail

The six suspects jailed in San Diego are Agustin; Agustin’s wife, Julie, 46; Pedro M. Quito, 60, a retired sailor and Navy civilian employee; Franklin Agustin’s brother, Edgardo, 45; Primitivo B. Cayabyab, a sailor on the Kitty Hawk, and Antonio G. Rodriguez, a sailor on the Belleau Wood. Saeid Asefi Inanlou, the Iranian charged in the case, was arrested by British authorities on July 12 and later released on $150,000 bail.

According to court documents, federal Judge Gordon Thompson authorized a wiretap on April 1 and then approved three subsequent extensions on May 2, June 1 and July 2 so that federal investigators could monitor telephone conversations at Franklin Agustin’s San Diego home and at his National City insurance office.

During this period Franklin and Julie Agustin were receiving calls from numerous Filipinos living in the United States who had access to F-14 parts, the affidavit alleges. Some were sailors; others were Navy civilian employees or people who lived close to military bases where F-14 parts were stored, according to the affidavit.

Meanwhile, a government expert witness testified at a bail review hearing Monday that federal investigators have not found any evidence linking Edgardo Agustin to bank accounts or land holdings in the Philippines. Internal Revenue Service Agent Stephen R. Gelman was called to testify about Edgardo Agustin’s possible ties to the Philippines.

The government argued that if released on bail, Edgardo Agustin would flee to the Philippines to avoid prosecution. However, under questioning by defense attorney Lonn Berney, Gelman said he knew of no Edgardo Agustin bank accounts in the Philippines.

The bail review hearing for Franklin and Edgardo Agustin, Cayabyab and Quito will continue today. Hearings for Julie Agustin and Rodriguez have been scheduled for next week.