New Details Emerge in Florida Export Controls Case

Some new details have emerged in the recent story regarding Joseph Piquet's conviction on seven counts of attempting to export ITAR-controlled power amplifiers to China. Piquet faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and more than $4 million in fines when he is sentenced in May.

• The defendant is the owner of Alphatronx, whose website says the company is "leading, stocking distributor of military, industrial and commercial electronic components."
• The Palm Beach Post reports that Piquet's attorney said he is "a great guy who got caught up in this really technical stuff nobody can figure out"and that "the one guy who could have exonerated" him died in 2005.
• The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida commended Northrop Grumman Corporation for its outstanding cooperation from the inception of this investigation through the conclusion of the trial. Piquet bought the controlled products from Northrop Grumman's subsidiary, Velocium Products.