Convicted Nuclear Smuggler Richard Kelly Smyth Demands $30,000 From Major International Media Outlet for Interview About His Alleged Shipping of Nuclear Weapons Components to Benjamin Netanyahu

Richard and Emily Smyth

Convicted Nuclear Smuggler Richard Kelly Smyth, the man at the center of a nuclear smuggling ring in the 1980’s involving Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, asserted in a 2002 FBI debriefings that he had shipped Krytrons (nuclear weapons triggers) to Benjamin Netanyahu, who he claimed worked for Hollywood Producer Arnon Milchan at the time. The explosive charge mentioned in Confidential gained new attention with the recent release of FBI top secret documents as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. 

As a consequence of the recently released FBI documents, Richard Kelly Smyth was approached by a major international media outlet seeking to interview him. In exchange for the interview about his allegations relating to Netanyahu, Smyth demanded $30,000 in cash, to be flown to Tel Aviv, and to be put up at the Tel Aviv Hilton where the interview would take place.

The major international media outlet ultimately declined the demand, sticking to a longstanding policy of not paying sources for news interviews. The cash demand also raised concerns about the credibility of the source [i.e. Smyth].