American arms dealer convicted of torture, conspiracy to commit crimes against U.S.

Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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A Pennsylvania man was convicted of torture, arms smuggling and conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, becoming the second American ever to be convicted of torture, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

A federal jury voted to convict Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, for the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He was found guilty on 39 counts of torture, arms smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering, among other charges.

Roggio, a former paratrooper, was linked to an illegal weapons factory project in Kurdistan, according to court documents and evidence presented at the trial. Weapons developed in the plant contributed to regional conflict after being sold on the black market in Iraq and Syria, Rolling Stone reported.

The Estonian citizen, an employee at Roggio's illegal weapons factory that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols, was abducted and repeatedly abused by Kurdish soldiers, court documents said.

“Roggio brutally tortured another human being to prevent interference with his illegal activities,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

Roggio is the second American to ever be indicted and convicted of torture since the federal torture statute went into effect in 1994, according to the Justice Department.

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Estonian victim physically, mentally abused over a 39-day period

The victim was employed at the illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan when Roggio arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain him at a Kurdish military compound, according to court documents.

The Justice Department said Roggio "suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period."

Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said arms smuggling "often goes hand in hand" with other criminal activities, including Roggio's charge of torture.

Roggio's weapons factory project planned to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols, court documents said. As part of operations, Roggio was to provide training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle.

According to court documents, Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce.

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Roggio convicted of 39 counts

Roggio is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that he was convicted on multiple counts of:

  • Torture

  • Conspiracy to commit torture

  • Conspiring to commit an offense against the United States

  • Exporting weapons parts and services to Iraq without the approval of the U.S. Department of State

  • Exporting weapons tools to Iraq without the approval of the U.S. Department of Commerce

  • Smuggling goods

  • Wire fraud

  • Money laundering

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pennsylvania man convicted of torture, conspiracy to commit crimes against U.S.