2 charged with trying to market F-14 parts

Two Utah men are accused of trying to illegally export surplus pieces of F-14 fighter jets, a plane that is flown only by Iran.

Abraham Trujillo, 61, and David Waye, 22, both of Ogden, are alleged to have tried exporting the parts to Canada, but the charges don’t specify how they supposedly got the parts, nor are all buyers listed.

Federal agents placed online orders, then intercepted the goods before they made it out of the country, the charges said.

Trujillo and Waye were charged with three counts each of attempting to export a defense article without a license.

Iran, trying to maintain its F-14s, is aggressively seeking components from the retired U.S. Tomcat fleet.

Members of Congress, worried that surplus F-14 parts could wind up in Iranian aircraft, have expressed concerns about the Department of Defense’s selling them.

The U.S. sold the F-14 to Iran in the 1970s, when it was under the rule of the Western-friendly Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1979, the shah was deposed, and the U.S. eventually banned the sale of military equipment to Iran.

The U.S. attorney’s office says federal immigration agents discovered a website with listings of F-14 parts offered by Trujillo and his Ogden business, NSN Specialists.

Over several months in 2006 and 2007, agents bought cable assemblies and other F-14 and F-4 jet items from Trujillo, authorities say. The men will receive a summons to appear before a federal magistrate. If they are found guilty, the penalties can be as many as 10 years in prison and a $1-million fine on each count.