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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Richard St. Francis.md

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+---
+category: "Other"
+tags:
+  - Person
+summary: "Connecticut businessman and TransCapital employee involved in C-130 aircraft sales to Iran and indicted alongside Ari Ben-Menashe."
+---
+
+[[Richard St. Francis]] was a businessman from [[Connecticut]] who worked for [[TransCapital Corporation]], a firm licensed to sell computer hardware used for the [[PROMIS]] program. He was involved in arms deals, particularly concerning the sale of [[C-130]] aircraft to [[Iran]].[^1]
+
+In April 1989, [[Richard St. Francis|St. Francis]] was involved in a deal to sell three C-130s to [[Iran|Tehran]], working with [[Joseph O'Toole]] and [[Mike Timpani]]. This deal was intended to be a go-between for [[Israel]] and [[Iran]]. He was also the person who brought the mysterious "Lettner" (later identified as [[John Lisica]], an undercover [[U.S. Customs|U.S. Customs Service]] agent) to [[Kennedy Airport]] to meet [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], as part of a sting operation.[^1]
+
+[[Richard St. Francis|St. Francis]] was arrested in April 1989 and later indicted for conspiracy to defraud the [[United States|United States]], cover up illegal dealings, and attempt to sell three planes to [[Iran]] in violation of federal laws. He was a co-defendant with [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] in the trial, though his case was later severed.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.