Hijacker's life changed

[Nic Name]

In an unrelated case, Canadian businessman will be sentenced in Philadelphia on June 28 for "trading with the enemy" and faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

Philadelphia (CP) -- A Canadian businessman charged with violating the 1960 U.S. trade embargo against Cuba was found guilty of selling goods through foreign middlemen by a jury on Wednesday.

James Sabzali, 42, becomes the first Canadian to be convicted of trading with Cuba, something that is legal in Canada but could send him to prison in the United States.

"I'm shocked," said Sabzali, who fully co-operated with the five-year investigation. "It doesn't make any sense."

... for more on this story

At the crux of the jury's verdict was Sabzali's approval of reimbursements to Canadian salesman Claude Gauthier for travel expenses "to, from and within Cuba," while acting as Brotech's marketing director.

The company's salesman, Gauthier, a Canadian who never set foot in the USA, was originally indicted, but the US withdrew charges against him following protests from Canadian diplomatic authorities. So, DoJ went after another Canadian employee of the American company, Sabzali, who lives outside Philly, and tied him to the "activities" of the Canadian they couldn't prosecute -- linking Sabzali to the "crime" by his approval of expense accounts of Gauthier, the Canadian employee who had never even visited the USA.

In Sabzali's case, both sides agreed that $2 million dollars worth of chemicals used to purify and soften water made their way to Cuba from plants owned, directly or indirectly, by BroTech, an American company.

[edit more info on sentencing ... Mr Sabzali faces a maximum sentence of more than 200 years in jail although prosecutors have recommended less than five. He is to be sentenced on 28 June.]

[juju]

So, if it's so terrible, what is the lasting damage that resulted from his actions?

[Nic Name]

Juju, are you Richard Reid's attorney?

[Nic Name]

In Sara Jane Olson's attempted bombing of the police cars, the bomb failed to detonate. Nobody hurt. She got two consecutive 10 years sentences.

[juju]

Originally posted by Nic Name
Juju, are you Richard Reid's attorney?

No, I just like difficult battles. :)

In Sara Jane Olson's attempted bombing of the police cars, the bomb failed to detonate. Nobody hurt. She got two consecutive 10 years sentences.

That's different. It was her intention to cause someone harm. Reid never intended to hurt anyone.

Originally posted by juju
That's different. It was her intention to cause someone harm. Reid never intended to hurt anyone.

Yeah. He just had gangrene in his foot and wanted to operate. With explosives. On a plane.

I know, I know. You meant the other guy. I thought I'd poke fun at you anyway.

[Nic Name]

[juju]

Whoops. :] Oh well, i've never been good with names.

I just think there's a difference between someone who tries to hurt someone, and someone who doesn't.

But it's all a matter of opinion, of course.

[Nic Name]

You're entitled to your opinion, of course. But please don't act according to it, because "not intending to hurt anybody" won't be any defense to using a gun and grenade to hijack a plane or rob a bank. That's just my advice, though, and you don't hafta follow it.

[Nic Name]

American sentenced to three years for hijacking Air Canada plane in 1971

Wednesday, June 12, 2002

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(06-12) 11:23 PDT TORONTO (AP) --

An American who hijacked an Air Canada flight in 1971 was sentenced Wednesday to three years in jail, 30 years after the only successful hijacking in Canadian history.

Patrick Critton, 54, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and extortion.

U.S. police had been after Critton for an armed robbery that led to a shootout in 1971. On Dec. 26 of that year, he hijacked an Air Canada flight from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Toronto, where he allowed the passengers off the plane. He then forced the crew to fly him to Cuba.

He was jailed in Cuba, then disappeared after his release.

A Canadian police investigator entered his name in an Internet search engine last year and came up with one reference to a Patrick Critton in Westchester County, New York. Fingerprints from that Critton matched those of the hijacker.

With no pending U.S. charges from the armed robbery in 1971, Critton was extradited to Canada to stand trial in the hijacking case.

Prosecutor Mark Saltmarsh sought a sentence of 10 to 12 years, while Critton's lawyer, Irving Andre, asked for a three-to-six year sentence, noting the passengers of the hijacked plane were released and no one was hurt.