Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in conspiracy to illegally export restricted laboratory equipment to Syria

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to illegally export restricted laboratory equipment from the United States to Syria. The guilty plea resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Department of Commerce, New York Field Office, Office of Export Enforcement.

Harold Rinko, 72, of Hallstead, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally export laboratory equipment, including items used to detect chemical warfare agents, from the United States to Syria, in violation of federal law. Rinko admitted that he conspired to export items from the United States through third party countries to customers in Syria, without the required U.S. Commerce Department licenses.

According to the plea agreement, the conspirators prepared false invoices that undervalued and mislabeled the goods being purchased and also listed false information about the identity and geographic location of the purchasers of the goods. The stipulation indicates that the items would be shipped from the US to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, and thereafter transshipped to Syria.

“HSI will use all resources at its disposal to prevent sensitive and restricted technology from being exported to Syria though the black market,” said HSI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge John Kelleghan. “No good comes of illegal exports to Syria during this time of gross misgovernment and civil strife, and HSI will do all in its power as the principal enforcer of export controls to ensure that sensitive technology doesn’t fall into the wrong hands in Syria. I applaud our colleagues at the Department of Commerce, along with our law enforcement counterparts in the United Kingdom, who helped us make this complex investigation a success.”

“Today's plea represents the effort of law enforcement agencies working together to make our country safer,” said Department of Commerce New York Field Office, Office of Export Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Sidney M. Simon. “Office of Export Enforcement special agents with the U.S. Department of Commerce work tirelessly every day to pursue those who flout our export control laws and attempt to supply anyone with technology that threatens our national security. We will seek and arrest violators wherever located, worldwide, and we will continue to leverage our unique authorities as the only federal law enforcement agency exclusively dedicated to enforcing dual-use export violations.”

Rinko faces up to five years’ in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year term of supervised release.