Accused Engineer Fails to Appear at Nuclear Device Trial

Richard K. Smyth, a Huntington Beach engineer accused by the U.S. government of illegally shipping nuclear triggering devices to Israel, failed to appear in federal court in Los Angeles for his trial Tuesday, marking the seventh day that his whereabouts have been unknown. Smyth’s wife, Emilie, is also missing.

“Frankly, we are in a limbo situation,” Assistant U.S. Atty. William Fahey, told the court. He said federal agents are pursuing “a couple of leads” and hope to have Smyth in custody in a “short time.” Nahey said the U.S. Customs Service, Interpol and other agencies also are searching for Smyth.

U.S. District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer ordered both the prosecution and the defense to return to court Aug. 26.

Smyth, 55, was free on a $100,000 bond, secured by a deed of trust to his waterfront Huntington Harbour home. Family members said they last saw him Aug. 10 and have not heard from him since.

“This is a nightmare, except in a nightmare, you wake up,” said Pauline Smyth, Smyth’s mother. She attended Tuesday’s court hearing, hoping to be reunited with her son, she said.

“We are scared to death,” said Gene Manns, Emilie Smyth’s mother. Manns, other family members and friends said that although Smyth was worried about the charges he faced, it is out of character for him to disappear.

Smyth’s cream-colored Oldsmobile sedan is missing, but his 27-foot sailboat is docked behind the house. The Smyths were avid long-distance sailors, family members said.

Sources close to the case have various theories about what happened to the Smyths, ranging from a suicide pact to kidnaping by either Arabs or Israelis concerned about Smyth’s possible knowledge of Mideast nuclear capabilities.

Smyth’s export and engineering business, Milco International Inc., was located in an industrial park on Graham Street in Huntington Beach. It has been closed for weeks and his home is for sale.

On May 16, Smyth was indicted on 15 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act and 15 counts of making false statements to the government. If convicted, Smyth, who pleaded innocent to all the charges, could be sentenced to a maximum of 105 years in prison and fined more than $1.5 million.

The charges stem from a 2-year investigation by the Customs Service into the shipment of two-inch electronic timing devices called krytrons. The devices, which cost about $75 each, are manufactured by EG&G; Inc. of Wellesley, Mass. In court documents, EG&G; attorneys said that there are “potentially thousands of uses for krytrons.” The small glass bulbs, with four colored wires protruding from the bottom, are used in strobe lights and high-speed photocopying machines, as well as nuclear devices.

The government contends that between January, 1980, and mid-December, 1982, Smyth illegally sent about 800 krytrons in 15 shipments to Heli Corp. in Israel. According to court records, the shipments were arranged by Arnon Milchan, an Israeli businessman and movie producer. After Smyth was indicted, an Israeli Embassy spokesman in Washington said that in his country the krytrons “are used in defense-related research and development for conventional weapons only.” He declined to comment on whether Israel knew the shipments were illegal.

Neither Smyth’s attorney nor the government’s Fahey would comment on Milchan’s whereabouts, although both said Milchan plays a key role in the case.

Friends and relatives described Smyth as a brilliant engineer who taught graduate computer research classes at the University of Southern California. Smyth, who had worked at Rockwell International Corp. in Anaheim for more than 15 years, had contracts for computer-related projects from Rockwell, ITT Corp. and several government entities, including the Air Force, according to court records.

Top-Secret Clearance

Smyth, who holds a top-secret security clearance, recently was honored by the Air Force for “meritorious service.” He serves on an Air Force advisory board and is an adviser on aeronautical research and development for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In fact, he was attending a NATO meeting in The Hague, the Netherlands, with his family when he learned of the indictment.

“I’m shocked (at his disappearance),” said colleague Robert Mainhardt. “It would be a dumb thing to run away. You have to suspect foul play.”

Mainhardt said that Smyth called him shortly after the indictment. “He wanted to talk about the problem and was looking for sympathy,” Mainhardt said. Mainhardt, president of Trebor Corp., a Dublin, Calif., security equipment company office, has served on Milco’s board of directors for several years.

‘Mom and Pop Operation’

He said that Smyth ran the company like a “mom and pop operation.” Emilie Smyth, a former Huntington Beach elementary school teacher, was the office manager. Smyth’s daughter, Gretel Smyth Siler, was the accountant. Gretel Smyth recently moved with her family to Florida.

The Smyths have five grown children, but none could be reached for comment.

“He was very, very worried about the case,” Smyth’s mother said Saturday. She said Smyth visited her Huntington Beach mobile home on Aug. 8 and invited her to accompany him and Emilie on a trip to Catalina Island. She said they wanted to “get away from the telephone” for a few days before an Aug. 14 federal hearing. Smyth said she declined the invitation.

“Richard is convinced he is innocent,” said Pauline Smyth. “He’s just dumbfounded that the government is pursuing this.”

‘Kidnaped or Killed’

Emilie Smyth’s mother said she is “very concerned about the fact he might have been kidnaped or killed by terrorists.”

She said the Smyths’ son, Ernest, spoke with his father at the Smyth’s Cotuit Circle home on Aug. 10. That conversation apparently was the last contact Smyth had with his family.

Smyth’s mother said that the couple put their home up for sale after the indictment to pay lawyer’s fees. Joanne Brett, an agent for Huntington Harbour Realty, said the five-bedroom home, with 175-feet of waterfront property, is listed “in the $900,000s.” She said she has had several offers for the rustic-looking home located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Brett said that she met with the Smyths about two weeks ago because they wanted to counter an offer from a prospective buyer. She said that they did not appear to be in any hurry to sell the house. She now is dealing with one of their sons, whom she declined to identify. Alan Croll, Smyth’s Los Angeles attorney, said that he did not know if any of the children have power of attorney.

No Sign of Struggle

Several of Smyth’s neighbors said that family members generally kept to themselves. No one remembered seeing the Smyths leave the neighborhood last week. Family members who have visited the house said that no clothes or suitcases are missing and there are no signs of a struggle.

The postman, making his Saturday rounds, said the Smyths were the only family on the block that he knew nothing about.

Two cardboard boxes containing about 460 krytrons allegedly shipped by Smyth are stored in Fahey’s office as evidence for the trial. Fahey said that the Israeli government has been cooperative with U.S. investigators and willingly returned both used and unused krytrons to Fahey’s office.

Although his client is missing, Croll is proceeding with his defense work.

“I think a 30-count felony indictment against a man who had no criminal record seems harsh,” Croll said after Tuesday’s court session. He said that on Jan. 1, 1985, the government removed krytrons from the restricted munitions list.

Fahey said that fact has no bearing on the case because krytrons were restricted in 1980 through 1982, and shippers today still must have special permission.