Colorado company pleads guilty to illegally exporting military technology

Colo. company pleads guilty in military tech case

DENVER — A Colorado company has pleaded guilty to illegally exporting defense technology to Turkey, South Korea, China and Russia.

Federal authorities say Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Denver to one count of exporting defense technology without a license. The company must forfeit $1 million, which authorities say represents what it made from criminal activities.

The company was also sentenced to five years of probation, during which it must develop an export control compliance program.

David Gaouette, U.S. attorney in Colorado, says most of the technology involved is used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Authorities say the Lafayette-based company exported such items as prisms and technical data about optics used in military applications between April 1, 2005, and Oct. 11, 2007.