---
category: "Arms Dealers & Brokers"
tags:
  - IranContra
  - 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*. Sheridan Square Press, 1992 (TrineDay reprint, 2015).