Mar 28, 2008 1:45 pm US/Central
Army Investigates 22-Year-Old Florida Arms Dealer
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (CBS) ―
A 22-year old military contractor from Florida is accused of illegally providing Chinese-made ammunition to the Afghanistan army but his grandfather is defending him as a dedicated businessman who operated as a legitimate weapons dealer.
Angelo Diveroli of North Miami Beach, Fla., says his grandson Efraim Diveroli frequently accompanied him to gun shows when he was younger and became a weapons expert.
Efraim Diveroli's business, which deals arms internationally, has worked out $300 million worth of contracts through the U.S. Army to provide weapons and ammunition to Afghanistan's army and police force. He was only 18 when he started.
A friend told CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami he couldn't believe Diveroli was approved such a large government contract.
"The government came here and checked him out and gave him the contract. How do you give someone, a 21-year-old kid a contract like that?"
Diveroli's business, AEY Inc., was started by his father as a small printing company. Now, four years later, Diveroli is a major player in the arms world, or at least he was.
The Army has suspended his company from any government contract work.
According to the New York Times and a notice of suspension from the Army, Diveroli's company supplied old, substandard, poorly packaged weapons and ammunition to Afghanistan. There have been no reports that the ammunition was unsafe or failed to work properly.
Diveroli is also accused of lying to the army saying that the ammunition was coming from Hungary. The Army believes he bought the ammunition from China, which is against U.S. law.
WFOR-TV tried to find Diveroli but instead found his father, Michael, who didn't want to go on camera. The elder Diveroli did say, however, that his son is out of the country and he doesn't know whether or not the allegations are true.
Michael Diveroli also said he not sure is son has made the right career choice: "I would prefer he became a nice Jewish doctor or lawyer rather than an arms dealer. He's never asked for my approval on the company. He doesn't always take my advice, I don't influence him. As a father of a boy genius he's hard to control."
A U.S. Senate committee is now taking control. They've called a hearing to investigate Diveroli's company and the allegations.
Diveroli's lawyer, Hy Shapiro, said Thursday he wouldn't comment because he had not seen the Army's letter of suspension yet and declined further comment until he had.
Diveroli has been in trouble before. He was arrested earlier this month for DUI.
Angelo Diveroli, the grandfather, has called the accusations jealous "fabrications" by his grandson's competitors.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
