Forklift News - Quinn may avoid jail in trade embargo case

A former forklift industry executive who was accused of lying to federal investigators in a trade embargo case should avoid jail time when a judge considers his fate on 26 August.

"We have been able to work out a plea agreement since the motion for a new trial" in March, says Aitan Dror Goelman, an attorney representing Robert E Quinn (Forkliftaction.com News #350).

For Quinn, the conclusion of the agreement will "get this chapter behind him," Goelman notes. "It is a big weight off his shoulders."
Judge John D. Bates will determine the sentence for Quinn at a hearing in US District Court in Washington.

Under the proposed agreement, the punishment would avoid any jail time, Goelman points out, and could involve something comparable to the one-year probation that was part of the 2006 sentence for Quinn’s boss, David Tatum, at Clark Material Handling Co in Lexington, Kentucky. Also, Tatum was fined USD5,000 and directed to perform 50 hours of community service.

"At one time, the government wanted 39 months in prison" and a fine of USD6,600 as Quinn’s penalty, and "previously, the government wanted a sentence of eight to10 years" for Quinn, Goelman says.

Agents searched the Clark facility in December 2004, confiscated emails and other evidence. That set in motion a highly publicised prosecution for violation of the US trade embargo with Iran. In concluding an eight-day trial in December 2005, a jury convicted Quinn of conspiracy and five counts of violating the embargo.

The jury found co-defendant Michael Holland, also a Clark employee, not guilty on all counts.

Clark shipped forklift parts worth about USD32,000 through a United Arab Emirates trading firm. Those parts were illegally forwarded to a forklift truck manufacturing and distribution firm in Iran.

Ultimately, the government’s case dissolved when the judge determined that prosecutors improperly withheld critical information that unfairly prejudiced Quinn’s legal team in the presentation of his defense. The government withheld an email that indicated Tatum had lied.

Quinn has returned to the business of selling forklifts and parts through Quinn & Associates LLC of Lexington.

Goelman is a partner with the Washington-based law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.

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