Iran-Contra Figure Convicted of Four Federal Tax Charges
Former CIA agent Thomas G. Clines, who brokered arms during the Iran-Contra affair, was convicted Tuesday of four federal tax charges.
A jury deliberated for 3 1/2 hours before convicting Clines, 62, of making false statements on his 1985 and 1986 tax returns. Clines, of Middleburg, Va., who helped procure arms for the Nicaraguan rebels, could be fined $1 million and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 31.
Clines, who was indicted Feb. 22 on four counts, was convicted of failure to report foreign financial accounts and of understating his gross receipts for both years.
The verdict was returned in the 11th day of the trial, during which government prosecutors depicted Clines as a sophisticated international businessman who reported only the arms deal profits he thought U.S. tax collectors would find out about.
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