Atoms For Peace.

Doc. Code:	19990110
Headline:	Sting Unravels Stunning Mafia Plot
Date:	12 January 1999
Bibliography:	Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 January 1999, <http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Jan/12/front_page/>
Author:	Jeffrey Fleishman
Orig. Src.:
Case:
Material:	HEU
Abstract: This article details the March 1998 case in which a sting operation code named 'Operation Gamma' by Italian police led to the seizure of a 190g bar of HEU, which Italian organized crime groups were tying to sell on the black market, searching in particular for a buyer from the Middle East. The HEU bar, a fuel rod from a US-designed research reactor containing uranium enriched to 20 percent U-235, had been diverted from a facility in Zaire, probably in 1997 during the chaos that surrounded the overthrow of the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko. The case is especially troubling, says the article, because 'for the first time, authorities documented a significant link between the mob and loose nukes.' Police also believe that the HEU bar they seized is only one of eight the mafia groups were marketing for a suggested price of $112 million; the other seven--weighing 1.3kg--are probably still hidden somewhere in Italy. The investigation of the case also suggests that the same organized crime groups may have eight Russian missiles, although the type of missile involved remains unclear. The Italian investigation into the case resulted in the arrest of 14 mobsters from three organized crime 'families.' Apparently the uranium made its way onto the European black market after being smuggled out of Zaire, and ended up in the hands of Italian organized crime groups. Gaetano Fiamingo, a money-launderer facing unrelated criminal charges, told Italian authorities in December 1997 that he had learned about the mafia efforts to market the HEU during a meeting with Sergio Tringale, a member of the Santapaola clan in the Catania region, and Marco Murroni, a member of a Palermo-based crime group. The HEU, according to Italian police, was under the control of a clan in Calabria known as 'Ndrangheta,' which specializes in drug-running and arms trafficking, and has close ties with organized crime groups in Rome. Subsequent wiretaps revealed that the Roman, Calabrian, and Sicilian gangs were nervous and wanted to find a buyer for the uranium. Fiamingo arranged a meeting in February 1996 between the gangsters and an undercover police agent posing as an Egyptian businessman interested in purchasing the HEU. After a few meetings, the agent had convinced the mobsters with vague hints that he represented a terrorist group or Middle Eastern country that was interested in acquiring a nuclear capability. At a subsequent meeting, the 'Egyptian businessman' brought along a second undercover police agent, who posed as a nuclear scientist verifying the quality of the uranium. This agent, code-named 'the Engineer,' did not actually have any scientific training, having received only a very short crash course in the use of a Geiger counter and some other equipment. If the gangsters had bothered to hire their own scientific consultant to monitor this meeting, they might have uncovered the police operation. The examination revealed that the material was indeed radioactive, although the actual material involved was determined only after it had been seized. A nuclear scientist consulted by the Italian police in the case said that it was unclear at this juncture whether the gangsters had just nuclear material or perhaps even a crude bomb. 'We did not know what we were dealing with,' he concluded. After much haggling, a deal was struck by the gangsters and the police agent, under which the agent agreed to pay $12.2 million for each of the eight uranium bars over a period of time, rather than purchasing all eight of them at one time. On 27 February 1999, the 'Egyptian businessman' and two of the mobsters drove to a bank in Switzerland to arrange for the transfer of the money, which would take place after the 'Engineer' had completed a final check of the uranium. Some difficulties at the Swiss bank made the gangsters suspicious, which almost aborted the operation, but a team of undercover agents quickly swooped down on the office in Rome where the 'Engineer' was examining the uranium, seizing it and taking several suspects into custody. The police tried to trick the mobsters into confessing by pretending to be Israeli agents, but the ruse failed. On examination, the HEU rod turned out to be a fuel rod from the TRIGA II research reactor. The rod, numbered 6916, was manufactured by General Atomic in San Diego in 1971, and shipped to Zaire in 1997. It was one of at least 10 such bars shipped to Zaire by the United States under the Atoms for Peace program. The Triga II reactor, built in 1972, was shut down in 1992 when the United States refused to sell any more spare parts to Zaire. The IAEA had noted in the 1980s that some uranium was missing from the reactor, but it is believed by Italian investigators that the rod involved in this case was not diverted until September 1997, possibly carried in a diplomatic pouch by part of then-President Mobutu's entourage when the former dictator escaped from Zaire. Interestingly, the article also points out that under the Atoms for Peace program, the United States exported 749kg of plutonium and 26.6 metric tons of HEU to 39 countries over three decades. This suggests that the March 1998 case involving the HEU from Zaire may not be unique, and serves as a reminder that the former Soviet Union is not the only possible source for nuclear materials on the black market.