Bail Set for Co-Defendant in Export Case

Citing the possibility of flight from legal charges, a federal judge on Tuesday postponed a decision on the bail release request of an Iranian charged with trying to illegally export a sophisticated computer to Iran.

However, Judge George H. King set a bond of $50,000 for an Orange County man who is a co-defendant in the same case.

The two defendants are Reza Zandian, 41, who maintains a residence in France, and Charles Reger, 57, of Huntington Beach. The two appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for a bail hearing. The U.S. Commerce Department said they were arrested Monday after leaving an air-freight terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

Government officials said the $2-million computer--an IBM ES 9000, the most powerful computer IBM makes--was seized by Commerce Department investigators at the freight terminal Monday.

Selling such computers, which can be used for military purposes, to Iran or other countries considered unfriendly to the United States is a violation of federal law. Zandian allegedly operated through two small companies managed by Reger--Lucach Corp./Computerworld in Irvine and Iran Business Machines in Costa Mesa.

Judge King said he wants testimony from Zandian’s ex-wife, an Irvine resident, before deciding on the $500,000 bail request. The judge, who will hold another hearing on Zandian’s request today, also said he might consider having the defendant submit to house detention at her residence.