The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
http://nypost.com/2015/10/09/hezbol...t-up-deal-from-waldorf-astoria-documents-say/
Hezbollah-linked gun peddler set up deal from Waldorf Astoria, documents say
By Selim Algar
October 9, 2015 | 4:13pm
A Lebanese money-launderer and illegal gun peddler used the Waldorf Astoria hotel as her home base to broker a deal in Brooklyn, court papers allege.
Beginning last year, Iman Kobeissi conspired to profit from cleaning drug cash and selling weapons and plane parts to Iranian and Lebanese buyers, according to a new Brooklyn federal-court complaint.
Kobeissi, who allegedly has ties to Hezbollah, made a visit to New York for one of the meetings, staying at the Waldorf in Manhattan before driving over for a sitdown in Brooklyn, court papers state. She is set to appear in Brooklyn federal court Friday afternoon.
At one point, Kobeissi was recorded telling undercover agents that her Iranian contacts desperately needed plane parts that they were unable to procure because of sanctions against the nation.
She also stated that she wanted to sell Lebanese and Iranian partners heavy weapons.
“The handguns would be going to Lebanon, and the other weapons systems would be going to Iran,” she said, according to court papers.
The woman even claimed to be able to land planes filled with contraband in Iran without complication.
Kobeissi claimed to have criminal associates in a dizzying array of countries across the globe, including France, Nigeria, Romania and Haiti, papers state.
She also willingly accepted mounds of dirty cash that she agreed to launder for hefty commissions. At a March meeting in Paris, she was given $250,000 in cash to launder, papers state.
Kobeissi is charged with money laundering and conspiracy.
Hezbollah-linked gun peddler set up deal from Waldorf Astoria, documents say
By Selim Algar
October 9, 2015 | 4:13pm
A Lebanese money-launderer and illegal gun peddler used the Waldorf Astoria hotel as her home base to broker a deal in Brooklyn, court papers allege.
Beginning last year, Iman Kobeissi conspired to profit from cleaning drug cash and selling weapons and plane parts to Iranian and Lebanese buyers, according to a new Brooklyn federal-court complaint.
Kobeissi, who allegedly has ties to Hezbollah, made a visit to New York for one of the meetings, staying at the Waldorf in Manhattan before driving over for a sitdown in Brooklyn, court papers state. She is set to appear in Brooklyn federal court Friday afternoon.
At one point, Kobeissi was recorded telling undercover agents that her Iranian contacts desperately needed plane parts that they were unable to procure because of sanctions against the nation.
She also stated that she wanted to sell Lebanese and Iranian partners heavy weapons.
“The handguns would be going to Lebanon, and the other weapons systems would be going to Iran,” she said, according to court papers.
The woman even claimed to be able to land planes filled with contraband in Iran without complication.
Kobeissi claimed to have criminal associates in a dizzying array of countries across the globe, including France, Nigeria, Romania and Haiti, papers state.
She also willingly accepted mounds of dirty cash that she agreed to launder for hefty commissions. At a March meeting in Paris, she was given $250,000 in cash to launder, papers state.
Kobeissi is charged with money laundering and conspiracy.