The Merchant of Death Is Going to Jail
Viktor Bout, who possesses (arguably) the world's most threatening nickname was found guilty by a federal jury. "Bout could face life in prison at his sentencing, which was scheduled for February 8. He hugged one of his lawyers as he left court," reports the AP. Hugs from the Merchant of Death? "Bout, a former Soviet military officer once known in the international arms market as the Merchant of Death, was arrested overseas in an elaborate sting in 2008," wrote the AP. "In secret negotiations with Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing as Colombian operatives, Bout 'did everything he could to show he could be the one-stop shop for FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia],' Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McGuire said in closing arguments." Bout's convictions sound more in line with his moniker than do hugs. Via The New York Times:
Mr. Bout, 44, faces a sentence of up to life in prison for conspiring to kill United States citizens, officers and employees by agreeing to sell weapons to drug enforcement informants who he believed were members of the Colombian terrorist organization known as the FARC; and for conspiring to acquire and export surface-to-air antiaircraft missiles, a conviction that carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison.
