Collector’s Scud May Launch a Federal Case

It was supposed to be a dud Scud that would be the latest addition to a sizable collection of military hardware on a Portola Valley ranch.

But the missile turned out to be operational, and the collector, a 48-year-old portfolio manager named Jacques Littlefield, suddenly has to answer questions in a federal investigation.

The missile was seized as it passed through the Port of Hueneme.

Littlefield describes himself as an ordinary guy with a yen for gizmos, not some kind of front for a terrorist group.

“Hopefully, they’ll come to the conclusion that, one, it wasn’t live, and two, nothing improper was intended,” he said Monday.

“I’m hoping that when they get all the information together, I’ll convince them I’m a good guy.”

U.S. Customs Service officials, who are conducting a joint investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, aren’t questioning Littlefield’s intentions.

But they still want to know why one of the missiles made infamous by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War came into this country operational except for proper fuel and a live warhead.

“No one at customs believes he’s anything but a hobbyist,” said spokesman Pat Jones. “But there’s still an investigation going on. . . . The guidance system was intact and the engine had not been destroyed in the very specific fashion in which the engines must be destroyed.”

Officials are concerned because the Russian-made missile is capable of delivering an 1,800-pound warhead up to 310 miles via a liquid-fueled rocket.

The 37-foot-long, five-ton green missile rolled off a cargo ship from England on Aug. 24 along with such luxury vehicles as Jaguars and Land Rovers.

Then it sat for a week in a secure area of the port before customs officials got around to looking at it, said port spokesman Kam Quarles.

Through a broker, Littlefield bought the Scud--his second--from the Czech military. The first also came through the port three months ago and ended up at its intended destination, Littlefield’s 470-acre Palo Alto-area ranch, complete with about 40 tanks, assorted bulldozers and tractors, and a one-eighth-scale train.

Customs officials said Littlefield’s first missile was a different model that had apparently been satisfactorily “demilitarized.”

Now, Littlefield is regretting that his passion for adding to his collection of more than 100 pieces may literally turn into a federal case.

Littlefield’s collection has generated a fair amount of attention over the years. From time to time, he opens his ranch to local charity fund-raisers and special-education classes.

Sound technicians for the movie “Saving Private Ryan” visited the ranch to record the sounds of various military vehicles.

“I would be collecting mining equipment if there were any way of getting ahold of it--it’s too heavy,” he said. “I wish the whole thing would go away.”