William von Raab was the [[U.S. Customs Service]] Commissioner.[^1] He was involved in the [[Hashemi sting]] operation, which was designed to entrap individuals connected with [[Israel|Israeli]] intelligence arms sales to [[Iran]].[^2] Von Raab, along with [[Rudolph Giuliani]], gave joint TV interviews on April 22, 1986, announcing the arrest of a "huge ring of terrorists" and "Merchants of Death" who were supposedly about to sell arms worth a billion dollars to [[Iran]]. [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] claims that von Raab and his associates had created the crime themselves.[^2] ### Role in BCCI Scandal Von Raab headed the agency during the Tampa money-laundering investigations involving the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1] He stated that the [[C-Chase]] sting operation, which led to the arrest of several BCCI bankers, was the most important money-laundering case in history.[^3] After BCCI's Tampa conviction, von Raab thought the case was "enormously meaningful" and announced it publicly. He was told by his superiors to dampen his public enthusiasm.[^4] He later testified before the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] subcommittee that the [[Justice Department]] had denied knowledge of the [[Ali Mirza]] tapes, which contained crucial information about BCCI's activities.[^5] ### Footnotes [^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11. [^2]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. [^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 25. [^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 389. [^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 54.