http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--iran-missing0506may 06,0,4669405.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Intrigue around former FBI agent from NY who disappeared in Iran By PAT MILTON Associated Press Writer May 6, 2007, 11:26 AM EDT NEW YORK -- Former FBI agent Robert Levinson has been the center of an international mystery ever since he traveled to Iran three months ago. While there, he apparently sought out information on a tobacco-smuggling operation. He spent six hours one day chatting with a hunted assassin on a seedy resort island. And then, Levinson disappeared March 8, possibly snatched up by Iranian authorities. What happened to the burly, 6-foot-4 former agent in the weeks since his sudden disappearance remains a matter of conjecture, whispers and speculation. Few seem to know anything about Levinson, and even his wife and children in the United States are in the dark. His wife, Christine Levinson, issued a statement to The Associated Press this weekend in which she conveyed her frustration with the agonizing ordeal. "My husband, Bob Levinson, is still missing. We, his family, have not heard from him since March 8, and the silence is unbearable," she said. "Right now, we are living a nightmare. We need Bob to come home to us. We are aware of all the rumors out there which have raised our hopes, only to have them crushed by the reality that we still have no information. We are asking anyone who has any information of any kind to please let us know." The "rumors" appear to be a reference to reports that Levinson left Iran recently and was turned over to U.S. officials. The Iranian government claimed it knew nothing of Levinson's whereabouts or welfare. The FBI said the same, adding that Levinson hadn't worked for them for years. An FBI spokesperson would only say: "We are keeping up on what is occurring. We are looking forward to a positive outcome. The State Department said it could not confirm reports that Levinson was released from Iran. Amid the international intrigue, Levinson's wife _ mother of their seven children _ has issued fruitless public pleas for the return of her 59-year-old spouse, a former agent in New York. And more than 200 former FBI colleagues have signed a petition calling for Levinson's release. The details of Levinson's trip to Iran's Kish Island remain murky. But he apparently met with Dawud Salahuddin, who lives in Iran and is wanted for the 1980 murder of an Iranian dissident outside the diplomat's Maryland residence. Salahuddin told The Associated Press that Levinson was there seeking information on a cigarette-smuggling operation. Salahuddin said he and Levinson shared a hotel room on March 7 in Kish, a Persian Gulf resort off the southern coast of Iran and a free-trade zone where Americans do not need a visa. They discussed various issues for about six hours _ in the room, during a walk, and over dinner at the hotel restaurant, Salahuddin said. On March 8, while they were both in the hotel lobby, Salahuddin said he was suddenly approached by Iranian police officers and taken into custody. He was released hours later, and returned to the hotel to discover Levinson was gone. Salahuddin believes the trouble with the Iranians began when someone told police that two Americans were secretly meeting at the hotel and that one of them, Salahuddin, was an American carrying an Iranian passport. With officials saying so little about the case, Salahuddin's account could not be corroborated by the authorities. Others suggested that the former FBI agent had become a pawn in the increasingly tense relations between Iran and the United States, including the seizure of five alleged Iranian intelligence agents in Iraq earlier this year. Levinson, of Coral Springs, Fla., was a highly regarded FBI agent in New York and Florida, known for busting Italian and Russian mobsters. His colleagues describe Levinson as extremely meticulous and bright. Levinson retired from the FBI in 1998 and owns a private security firm, R.A. Levinson & Associates. His former colleagues, in the letter pressing for his return home, asserted that Levinson was on a private business trip and not engaged in any illegal activity. And they expressed concerns about his health; Levinson takes medication for high blood pressure and diabetes. The letter went out in the last week to the Iranian president, said Ted Fraumann of Morristown, N.J., an FBI colleague and current business associate of Levinson. "Those who know Bobby best are very concerned about him, Fraumann said. "We have not heard anything. He is such a great guy and we won't be happy until he is safe at home." Fraumann said more than a dozen former agents met in New York this week to try to secure Levinson's release. Much more is know about Salahuddin and his brutal past. Prosecutors say Salahuddin pulled up to Iranian diplomat Ali Akbar Tabatabai's home in July 1980, using a postal truck that he borrowed by bribing a friend. He wore a mailman's uniform to elude tight security at the residence and hid a gun inside a package. When Tabatabai came to the door, Salahuddin fired three shots and fled, officials said. Tabatabai died later that day while Salahuddin escaped to Iran and shelter under the regime of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Tabatabai, the former spokesman for the Iranian embassy in Washington, was an outspoken critic of Khomeini. Salahuddin, who still faces murder charges in Maryland, confessed to his crime during an interview done for a U.S. television network during the 1990s. In the meantime, Levinson's family just wants him to come home. "Bob is a wonderful man, who loves and cares for his family," Christine Levinson said. "Before he went on his trip, we went to visit our new grandson. While we were watching our children play with him, Bob turned to me and said, 'This is as good as it gets."' [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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