This isn't an illegal immigration issue as far as I can tell but it sure is a national security issue!

Posted on Sun, Mar. 30, 2008r
Couple accused in Iran case had dark secret, officials say
By JACK DOUGLAS JR.Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Special to the Star-Telegram/Dorset Echo
In happier days in 2004, Brian and Laura Woodford hosted a wedding reception at their English manor for Chinese opera stars Ke-Qing Liu and Chun-Qing Zhuang. Now, the power couple stand accused of illegally doing business with Iran.

Brian and Laura Woodford owned a nearly $1 million home in Fort Worth, a $4.5 million chalet in Colorado and a 17th-century manor on a 100-acre estate in England.

From their windows in Fort Worth they could overlook the lush greens of the Colonial Country Club golf course. Their home in Colorado, now up for sale, is near Beaver Creek Ski Resort.

In the county of Dorset, near the English Channel, the Woodfords' Chalmington Manor estate can easily be reached by air, with its private landing strip and hangar.

But the lavish lifestyle came crashing down Dec. 23, when Laura Woodford was met by customs agents at San Francisco International Airport as she entered the country from Hong Kong to visit her elderly mother in Dallas.

The arrest likely came as a surprise because the 20-count indictment, accusing the Woodfords of an international criminal enterprise that hinges on terrorism, had been sealed for nearly five years -- with several federal agencies just waiting for one, or both of them, to step back onto American soil. The Woodfords, through a company they owned and operated in Singapore, worked with "others" to sell restricted military and commercial aircraft parts to Iran, considered a serious crime because Iran has been designated as a sponsor for terrorists by the U.S. government, the indictment alleges.

Husband worked for Bell

Laura Woodford, 63, is in a federal jail in Brooklyn, N.Y. She has been denied bail on charges that, if convicted, could put her behind bars for the rest of her life. Her 77-year-old British-born husband, Brian, who once worked for Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, remains at large and is believed to be out of the country, likely in a place that does not recognize U.S. law.

"Many countries, including Singapore, will not extradite individuals for export violations such as those charged here," the federal government said in court records. Justice Department officials also said Laura Woodford could be a "danger to the community" if she were released on bail, noting that at the time of her arrest she possessed catalogs from a Chinese company suspected of trading in weapons of mass destruction. The catalogs included advertisements for rocket launchers and surface-to-air missile systems.

Agents also said Laura Woodford -- a U.S. citizen of Chinese descent who is referred to as Wang-Woodford in the indictment -- could be a flight risk because of her "significant assets abroad." Her attorney, Matthew Levine of New York, has not responded to repeated phone calls and e-mails requesting a comment.

It has been a stunning downfall for a woman who lived in one of Fort Worth's finest neighborhoods. She and her husband sold their home on Country Club Circle in 2001 to car dealer Eric Grubbs for $960,000, and then downsized to a town house on Westbriar Drive that they bought for $270,000 and still own.

Neighbors said they seldom saw the Woodfords in Fort Worth and were often told by the couple's housekeeper that they were out of the country.

"I was shocked when I heard about this," Richard Steed Jr., a Fort Worth businessman who briefly worked for the Woodfords in Singapore, said in an interview last month. "I would have never imagined Laura being indicted for these allegations."

'A smart lady'

In England, Brian Woodford wore a top hat and Laura was in formal attire -- looking nothing like a couple who had for more than a year been under indictment in the U.S. -- when they hosted a showy wedding reception at their manor for Chinese opera stars Ke-Qing Liu and Chun-Qing Zhuang. Photographs of the May 2004 ceremony, including some of Brian Woodford being chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce, were splashed on the Internet.

Among those who attended the event was Lloyd Shoppa, a close friend and traveling companion of the Woodfords who is a former president of Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth.

"I'm flabbergasted," Shoppa said recently in a telephone interview, referring to the federal charges against the Woodfords. "That's something I don't have any knowledge of."

Shoppa, who retired from Bell in 1997 to begin a chain of stores that sell forklifts, warehouse materials and farm supplies, said he and his wife, Betty, have not seen the Woodfords for quite some time. "I really don't know anything except for the rumors. ... They were friends, and that's about all I can say."

Betty Shoppa said she does not believe the government's allegations against her friend Laura Woodford.

"She's a smart lady. She's world-traveled. ... She was fun to be with and to have around. She never met a stranger," Betty Shoppa said.

When she was confronted by agents in San Francisco, Laura Woodford said she was unemployed. But the government said she carried business cards that showed her to be a director of Monarch Aviation in Singapore, led by her husband.

Others involved

According to the indictment, Monarch sold sensitive airplane and helicopter parts to companies in Iran, with the transactions initiating variously in Fort Worth; Kansas City, Mo.; or Bridgeport, Conn. It also alleged that the Woodfords worked with others in their conspiracy, but it did not identify who those other people are or how the aircraft components were acquired.

Robert Nardoza, a spokesman in New York for the U.S. attorney's office, which is investigating the Woodfords through its violent crimes and terrorism unit, said he could not comment on a pending case.

Bell Helicopter, which according to its Web site has a "key" logistics supply and service center in Singapore, also declined to say what Brian Woodford had done for the company, including whether he had been a full-time employee or a contract worker.

"Bell has no comment on the entire matter," said Greg Hubbard, a spokesman for the company in Fort Worth.

Star-Telegram researchers Marcia Melton and Cathy Belcher contributed to this report.

jld@star-telegram.com
JACK DOUGLAS Jr., 817-390-7700
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/552361.html