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Missionary To Be Sentenced For Role In Scam

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 18, 2008

TAMPA - Former Reagan national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane credits Robert Armstrong with helping persuade the president of Sudan to allow United Nations and African Union forces into Sudan.

Richard Kiel, the actor who played James Bond villain "Jaws," says Armstrong has risked his life to bring Christianity to places such as Cuba and Nicaragua and was instrumental in encouraging Kiel to write his life story.

Others, including Mary Fallin, a congresswoman from Oklahoma, vouch for Armstrong's work as a religious publisher and legislative director of the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington.

Today, Armstrong, 60, of Bradenton, will be sentenced in Tampa's U.S. District Court for his role in a scam to bilk investors who were sold blocks of flight time on airplanes. Armstrong faces a maximum of five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

Philip S. Haney, an attorney for one of the victims of the scam, People United for Christ, wrote a letter asking for leniency for Armstrong, calling him "a man of high moral character, integrity and pride."

Armstrong will likely receive a reduced sentence today. He has cooperated with prosecutors in cases against two others, Charles Hellier, who received 30 months in federal prison, and Gregory Lee Love, who received probation.

Hellier was president and Armstrong vice president of Airfleet Resources Florida, which sold blocks of flight time on airplanes. Love was a pilot and sales representative. According to an indictment, the conspirators falsely said they were selling flight time on aircraft Airfleet owned. But the company didn't have access to sufficient airplanes to fill their clients' needs, and the defendants chartered planes.

Airfleet would charge clients' credit cards for the flight time, then pass along the credit card numbers to the charter companies, which would charge the customers' cards again because Airfleet didn't pay for the charters. The customers' credit cards were also charged for other things the customers hadn't authorized, including fuel and aircraft maintenance. Although court documents do not give a total loss, they list dozens of transactions for tens of thousands of dollars.

Armstrong's attorney, George Tragos, described Armstrong as "kind of a minor player" in the fraud.

Armstrong Called A Victim

Kiel, the actor who said he met Armstrong more than 20 years ago at a National Religious Broadcasters convention, said he thinks Armstrong was misled by Hellier and was actually more a victim of the scam than a perpetrator. "I really believe that Charles Hellier deserves a long prison sentence, that Bob was a victim of Charles Hellier as well," Kiel said.

Armstrong, he said, is "a good guy with very, I believe, good intentions, who got mixed up with the wrong guy who was leading him on making him think everything was going to be OK, and it wasn't."

Kiel said he wished Armstrong had fought the charges, but that his friend had pleaded guilty because he had no choice after paying $55,000 for his lawyer.

Dozens Of Letters Of Support

Kiel's endorsement of Armstrong is echoed in dozens of letters from Armstrong's supporters, including McFarlane, the former Reagan administration official, who was pardoned by the senior President Bush for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.

McFarlane did not return messages seeking his comments on Armstrong. But in a letter to the court, he said he met Armstrong while co-chairing a delegation to Sudan last year.

Armstrong "was specifically asked by Sudan's President Bashir to pray for him and for the restoration of stability in Darfur," McFarlane wrote. "It was clear afterward that the president was quite moved by the experience. Subsequently, President Bashir did, indeed, approve the deployment of a combined" United Nations and African Union force.

Armstrong described the encounter in an eight-page autobiography he wrote for the court. "In a very private moment, and much to the chagrin of my small team and the president's private guards, I placed my hand on his heart and prayed for his heart condition. ... His eyes got as big as grapefruits and tears came down his cheeks, and he profusely thanked me for my private prayer. He told me, 'My country is your country! Come back as my guest anytime!"

McFarlane added that he thinks Armstrong is "a man of goodwill toward all and without any personal or motivation to deceive, mislead, defraud or otherwise harm anyone. I can well imagine that in his innocence of business matters, he may well be vulnerable to manipulation."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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