Hearing Opens on U.S. Request for McVey Extradition

A hearing opened Monday on the U.S. request for the extradition of Orange County businessman Charles J. McVey, who is accused of smuggling sophisticated computer equipment to the Soviet Union.

McVey, 63, who lived in Villa Park, ran a computer export business in Anaheim before he fled the United States in 1982. He is fighting the request that he be returned to the United States to stand trial.

Officials at Vancouver’s Extradition Court said the hearing is expected to last three days.

U.S. indictments in 1983 and 1987 accuse McVey of smuggling computer technology to the Soviets. If convicted, sentences could total 125 years, according to U.S. officials.

McVey had been a fugitive for four years when he was arrested Aug. 19 while on a fishing trip in Canada’s Yukon Territory,

Cpl. Daniel Fudge, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who made the arrest, was thanked by U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese.

McVey was released by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge in September on grounds the original arrest warrant was invalid, but police obtained a new warrant and rearrested McVey the next day.