Lester Coleman

Lester Knox Coleman III[1] (September 25, 1943 – August 15, 2021)[2] was an American who was the co-author of the 1993 book Trail of the Octopus: From Beirut to Lockerbie – Inside the DIA,[3] in which he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 103.[4] Coleman claimed he was at one point employed by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[5] Coleman further alleged that a compromised American covert drug-operation allowed Iranian-backed terrorists – the PFLP-GC, led by Ahmed Jibril – to slip a Semtex bomb aboard the plane. [3] On September 11, 1997, Coleman stated to a New York Federal court that "...he lied when he claimed that a secret drug sting enabled terrorists to evade airport security in the bombing..." In a plea agreement, Coleman was sentenced to time served, which was five months, and six months' home confinement under electronic monitoring.[6] Conspiracy theories alleging that the federal convictions of Lester Coleman were an effort to silence him and to hide the truth about Pan Am Flight 103 circulated around the internet.[7][verification needed]

  1. ^ O'Connor, Matt (19 September 1997). "Passport Fraud, Web Of Lies Snare Ex-u.s. Informant". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Lester Coleman Obituary". Neptune Cremation Service. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Coleman, Lester K; Goddard, Donald (1993). Trail of the Octopus: From Beirut to Lockerbie – Inside the DIA. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0747515623.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference timemag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "PanAm Scam. How two self-styled intelligence agents took the news media for a ride". American Journalism Review. September 1992. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Metro News Briefs: New York; Informer Admits Lying In Pan Am Crash Case". New York Times. 12 September 1997. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  7. ^ Martz, Ron. "CONSPIRACY THEORIES: Outlandish claims can hit close to home." Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 30, 2000. C5. Retrieved on September 26, 2010. "Coleman, an American, seemed a good candidate. He had a Lebanese wife and had traveled widely in that country and in other parts of the Middle East." and "byline "Collin Knox," a pseudonym frequently used by Coleman." and "Coleman has since been convicted of federal charges of perjury and state charges of forgery. But the conspiracy theory lives on on the Web --- the convictions just another part of the government's effort to keep him quiet and hide the real truth about Pan Am 103." and "Coleman's primary target in the book, the head of the DEA office in Cyprus, successfully sued the British publisher and Coleman for libel in a London court. The publisher had to offer a public apology and destroy all remaining copies of the book."