WASHINGTON -- A former employee of fugitive ex-CIA agent Edwin Wilson pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to a scheme to export explosives to Libya.
Donald Schlachter, appearing before U.S. District Judge John Pratt under extremely tight security, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export explosives and exporting the material without first obtaining a license.
Schlachter was indicted in 1980 with Wilson and another former CIA employee, Frank Terpil, on charges of conspiring to ship explosives to the radical regime of Libya's Col. Moammar Khadafy.
Wilson and Terpil, who left the CIA in 1976, remain fugitives - Wilson reportedly living in Tripoli, where he continues to supply services to Khadafy, and Terpil in Beirut.
Schlachter returned to the United States late last year from the African nation of Burundi to face charges.
During Friday's hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Barcella said the government was prepared to show that Schlachter oversaw the work of others in Libya.
He said Schlachter received orders for explosives from others in Libya and passed the requests on to the United States.
Schlachter's lawyer, Alvin Askew, told the court Schlachter 'admits performing acts that resulted in the movement of explosives from the United States to Libya without obtaining a license.'
However, he said, Schlachter was led to believe he was part of an operation that was 'sanctioned by the United States government.'
'He realizes now that that was not the case,' Askew said.
Last month, Askew told reporters that Schlachter was hired by Wilson in 1971 to help manage his farm in northern Virginia. At the time, Wilson was still employed by the CIA.
Later, according to published reports, Schlachter was recruited by Wilson to work on other business projects and became involved in the Libyan operation.
Wilson and Terpil, both fugitives, were first indicted in April 1980 and were reindicted, along with Schlachter last August.
No sentencing date was set for Schlachter, who reportedly is being closely guarded by authorities.
