Conviction in Oil-for-Food Program 
http://view.atdmt.com/ORG/view/nwyrkfxs0040000007org/direct;at.orgfxs00000913/01/ \* MERGEFORMATINET
July 14, 2006
The New York Times
Original Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/14/world/middleeast/14food.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
A South Korean businessman accused of being an Iraqi agent and trying to influence the United Nations’ oil-for-food program was found guilty of conspiracy yesterday in United States District Court in Manhattan.
The businessman, Tongsun Park, 71, a central figure in a Congressional influence-peddling scandal in the 1970’s, was arrested last year and was the first person to go on trial in the criminal case stemming from a scandal involving the United Nations, Iraq and a group of individuals accused of being conspirators.
The Manhattan jury deliberated less than a day before returning its verdict shortly after lunch.
Judge Denny Chin set sentencing for Oct. 26, when Mr. Park could face more than 12 years in prison for his role in the decade-long conspiracy.
The oil-for-food program operated from 1996 to 2003 and permitted the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy goods needed by its civilian population despite sanctions imposed by the United Nations after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Authorities said the program was corrupted because Saddam Hussein was allowed to choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of goods to meet civilian needs.
On Wednesday, an assistant United States attorney, Stephen Miller, urged jurors to convict Mr. Park, saying he had arranged to receive millions of dollars in cash in an effort to influence top United Nations officials, including the former secretary general, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
“We’re not talking about France or Mexico here,” Mr. Miller said. “Saddam Hussein’s government was an international pariah.”
An independent panel concluded last year that Iraq had a scheme to bribe Mr. Boutros-Ghali but found no evidence that the secretary general had been aware of the plot or had received any money.
Mr. Miller contended that Mr. Park gave the conspiracy high-level connections within the United Nations while Samir A. Vincent, an Iraqi-American businessman, kept in touch with Iraqi leaders, all in an effort to have the sanctions lifted in return for substantial payments from the Iraqi government.