Well, if you ask me, this Russki gal is much prettier than the first one busted here in New York.
New York Post
Looks like the Cold War is really heating up.
A young Russian beautician faces federal felony charges in Texas for allegedly trying to smuggle night vision scopes to Moscow -- just weeks after the feds broke up a massive Russian spy ring, according to a bombshell new report made public today.
Anna Fermanova, 24, was busted July 15 when she returned to the US after spending four months overseas. She was charged with "knowingly and intentionally" attempting to export "from the United States to Russia defense articles on the United States Munitions list," according to documents posted on thesmokinggun.com.
The state-of-the-art vision goggles cannot be exported without pre-approval from the Department of State since the items are considered weapons, officials said.
Fermanova told thesmokinggun.com that the charges were "false allegations" and "too sensitive to be discussed."
Fermanova works in Moscow giving English lessons to Russian students. Her lawyer, Scott Palmer, called the case "really silly," adding that Fermanova's husband planned to resell the night vision scopes to hunters.
Palmer declined to discuss where Fermanova came up with the $15,000 to purchase the three devices (two devices were purchased for $4,000 each and a third was $7,000).
He also said Fermanova emigrated with her parents to the United States from Latvia when she was a young girl and is currently an American citizen.
According to her Facebook page, she is a 2005 graduate of the Ogle School of Hair Skin and Nails,and Texas state records show that she holds a cosmetologist license expiring next August.
Federal prosecutors in Dallas asked a judge to jail her without bail -- a request that denied denied by Judge Renee Harris Toliver.
She was eventually released on $50,000 bond, but her passport was seized and she was placed on 24-hour-a-day home incarceration because the feds argued she was a flight risk.
The arrest warrant for Fermanova was signed a day after Russian spy Anna Chapman and nine others pleaded guilty to federal charges and deported.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement began to probe Fermanova in February when a confidential informant reported that she was seeking to acquire a $7,000 "Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight."
The source told officials that Fermanova "had previously acquired a similar night vision scope."
In a sworn affidavit, ICE Agent David Mondanaro said the Raptor 4X was an advanced "generation 3" sighting device "designed to be affixed to a rifle, such as the M4 assault rifle."
Full story
Via New York Post
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