2 Owners of North Hollywood Firm Freed on Bail in Copter-Sale Case

Two owners of a North Hollywood company, charged with selling 87 civilian helicopters to North Korea, were released on bail Thursday, and their attorney accused prosecutors of making a deal with a potential witness.

Ronald H. Semler, 43, of Malibu and his brother, Monte B. Semler, 37, of Santa Barbara, surrendered to federal marshals Thursday morning. U.S. Magistrate John R. Kronenberg set bail for each at $1 million and allowed the Semlers to remain free until the Monday deadline for posting the bond.

Also scheduled Monday is the Semlers’ arraignment on the 27-count indictment issued Wednesday, charging them with violating the Trading with the Enemy Act, conspiracy, making false statements to the government and filing false income tax returns.

West German Intermediary

The Semlers and their father, who was not indicted, own Associated Industries of North Hollywood. The helicopters, according to the indictment, were ordered from Hughes Helicopters Inc. from 1983 to 1985 and shipped to North Korea through a West German firm, Delta Avia, that the Semlers secretly owned. Hughes Helicopters, based in Culver City, was sold to McDonnell Douglas in 1985 and is now McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co.

The indictment said the helicopter deal was negotiated and carried out by Kurt Behrens at the direction of the Semlers. Behrens, a Dane living in West Germany, managed Delta Avia and was a minority owner, according to the indictment.

“If Kurt Behrens did all these things, he didn’t do it as an agent of my clients,” defense attorney Vincent J. Marella said when asked outside court whether the Semlers knew what Behrens was doing.

‘Some Kind of Deal’

Noting that Behrens was not indicted, Marella said, “It seems the government has made some kind of deal with the man who did all these things,” in order to prosecute the Semlers.

Marella said that, if Behrens were a government witness, his own involvement “would cast a considerable cloud over his credibility.”

Asst. U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Modisett said, “We’re not going to comment on any of our potential witnesses.”

Marella also disputed U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner’s statement Wednesday that the civilian helicopters were easily convertible to military use. He said the Hughes 300 and 500 series models involved were “a far cry from military helicopters.”

Modisett said the purpose of the Trading with the Enemy Act, which prohibits unauthorized business with North Korea and other designated nations, “is to prevent Americans from dealing with countries who are hostile to American interests.”

Broke No German Laws

Modisett said that West German officials had affirmed that Behrens broke no German laws by shipping the helicopters.

The indictment said the Semlers, through Behrens, first sold two Hughes helicopters to North Korea in early 1983 as demonstrators.

Behrens, according to the indictment, then negotiated a $40-million contract with the commercial attache of the North Korean Embassy in East Berlin in August, 1983, that called for 100 more helicopters, plus spare parts and tools.

Besides the two demonstrators, 85 non-military helicopters were delivered to North Korea in five shipments beginning in late 1983. A final shipment of 15 aircraft was intercepted by federal agents at Los Angeles Harbor in early 1985, Modisett said.

The 85 crated helicopters, labeled as “machinery,” were first shipped from Los Angeles to Rotterdam, then transferred to Hong Kong, where they were taken by Soviet freighters to North Korea, the indictment said.