European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 19,1994 no the stars and stripes Page 3 pm san Vito master sergeant tells of currency scam  Northern Italy Bureau Aviano a Italy an air Force master sergeant pleaded guilty thurs Day to stealing nearly $500,000 in  italian currency from the finance office at san Vito Dei Normanna air  you knew How to work the system you could take it out fix the paperwork and no one would know that it had happened master sgt. Nancy c. Towns end said during the first Day of her Gen eral court martial at Aviano a. Townsend formerly the chief of pay ing and collecting at san Vito s account ing and finance office also entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit larceny. She faces a possible maximum sen tence of 80 years in prison. She told judge col Wade b. Morri son that she carried out the crimes witha Friend Michael d. Williams a former air Force Security policeman at san Vito. Court martial officials gave no Indica Tion of Williams whereabouts or whether he has been charged with crime. Nor did they say How much of the Money has been recovered. Townsend s court martial was to re sume today. Townsend said that she and Williams planned the first currency theft during the first two weeks of january 1992, and that on or about Jan. 31, 1992, she or dered an air Force enlisted woman in her office to prepare two boxes of cur Rency for shipment to the Federal re serve Bank of new York. One Box contained $35,500 in $100 Bills while the other contained $3,390 in torn and mutilated . Currency Townsend told the court. She said that although Correct ship Ping documents had been drawn up forthe two shipments she Only submitted documents to ship the Box containing the smaller amount. Townsend then summoned Williams at that time an air Force staff sergeant to escort her to the office of san Vito base information Transfer system or bits. His part was to play the role of a Security policeman Townsend said. When the two arrived at bits Townsend said Williams remained out Side the building with the Box con Taining the $35,500 while she went in Tomail the Box with the lesser amount. After coming out of bits Williams gave the Box Back to her and she stashed it in a Wall locker in a Friend s on base quarters. Later that Day Townsend retrieved the stash took it to her House in san Vito and divided the Money with Wil Liams. Townsend said that she gave Williams $11,000 in $100 Bills but that he re turned $6,000 to her asking her to change the amount into smaller currency at her finance office. She said that on feb. 3 she exchanged $11,000 for smaller Bills from her office Safe and then gave $6,000 of that Cash to Williams. Townsend said that the conspiracy to steal currency started when Williams asked her How difficult it would be to steal Money from her office. She said she told him that it would not be difficult because the office had not had an audit in a Long time. We discussed what my part was going to be and what his part was going to be Townsend told the court. We first  he would ketone third or More Townsend said adding that she thought she was entitled to a greater share because she waste one running the greater risk. On june 19, 1992, Townsend said she again pretended to mail two package through bits to the Federal Reserve Bank of new York but instead mailed Only one a Box containing $3,300 in worn currency. She said she hid the other Box con Taining $90,100, in an office vault after destroying its accompanying paperwork. Later that Day after her co workers had left the finance office she took the Money to her House and gave $60,000 of it to Williams she said. Williams got a bigger Cut of that haul she said because he was planning on getting out of the service to set up some sort of business of which she would be a part owner. Williams returned to the unite states on dec.,1,1992, to separate from the air Force under its selective Bonus program she said but planned to re turn to Italy to help her with another theft in february 1993. That theft she said involved her Tak ing As Many $100 Bills As she could accumulate while he was gone. Once again she said two boxes were prepared for shipment on Jan. 27,1993, through bits to new York. One Box held $20,952 in old currency the other had $154,100 in $100 notes. This time she left the Box with the larger amount in the Safe after the log numbers of the two boxes were switched in a Ledger and mailed Only the Box with the smaller amount. The Box with the $154,100 she brought Back to her House and hid. Townsend said she then telephoned Williams in the United states told him about the latest haul and informed him of her plan to steal a Large amount of italian currency from her office. Williams she said agreed that he would help her change that Money . Currency upon his return to Italy. In March Williams returned to Italy Townsend said and she gave him at least $75,000 in $100 Bills. She said that she had previously Sto Len a total of 323 million italian lire about $200,000 in various sums from her office during february. I did it the whole month of february. I just went into the vault at the end of the Day and took it out Townsend said. Williams she said took the italian Money and converted it into . Cur Rency through Banks currency dealers and Black marketeers at various locations throughout Italy. The two split the resulting $200,000 evenly and he re turned to the states she said. Townsend was arrested after $49,000 in currency was found by air Force of fice of special investigations agents in her unaccompanied baggage shipment in july 1993. No foot dragging vital Airlift cargoes being unloaded with clockwork efficiency by sue Palumbo staff writer Kigali Rwanda air Force and army person Nel running the Airport in Kigali hit their Peak wednesday when they landed unloaded and sent off 28 planes in less than 24 hours a military official  military and civilian aircraft carried More than 500 tons of food Medicine water and  materials Are to be turned Over to several civilian organizations that will then distribute them to hundreds of thousands of refugees. The United states Britain France and Canada began running the once thriving International Airport in Kigali on aug. 4. The runway and taxiways remain pockmarked and Many of the windows Are shattered As a result of the Battle Between the rwandan Patri Otic front and the former government of Rwanda. Kigali is the Hub of Rwanda explained army capt. Ryan Yantis joint task Force Public affairs representative in Kigali. Whoever controlled the Airport controlled the Lifeblood of the  . Personnel handle the bulk of the work on the night line. They Are responsible for signalling the planes when they land and parking them. Crews from other countries assist with the loading and unloading. There Are 233 american service members in Kigali. All of them stay on Airport grounds. The americans also ensure that the Airport has adequate clean water. At Kigali airports a Dave Casey refugees on a Road near Goma Zaire watch a Convoy head out for heavy work at Catale ii a new campsite. Speaking English or even French which most rwandans speak is not required of pilots who land at Kigali. . Workers said interpreting the sign Lan Guage keeps the Job interesting. An added Challenge is that Crews often Don t know what Type of planes they will be asked to support. We Don t know More than 15 minutes in Advance what we re getting said air Force master sgt. Ste Ven Carter of the 602nd aircraft Generator so from Travis fab near Fairfield Calif. We Don t know if it s big or Little. We just know we be got to fit it in and make room for