Former Navy Intelligence Official Convicted In Silencers Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lee Hall, 53, of Potomac Falls, Virginia, the former Director for Intelligence for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy Office of Plans, Policy, Oversight, and Integration (PPOI) Intelligence Directorate, was convicted yesterday of conspiracy to transport unregistered firearms, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and theft of government property.

Also convicted yesterday was Mark Stuart Landersman, 53, of Temecula, California, the brother of Hall’s former supervisor, David Landersman, the PPOI Senior Intelligence Director. Mark Landersman was convicted of conspiracy to illegally manufacture and deal firearms, conspiracy to transport unregistered firearms, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew L. Traver, Director, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS); and Charles E. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the verdict was announced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Lee Hall faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the theft of government property conviction, and five years in prison on the conspiracy conviction. Mark Stuart Landersman faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The sentencing date for both is January 30, 2015. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Hall and Landersman were indicted in a superseding indictment on March 13, 2014, on charges of conspiracy and theft of government money.  According to court records and evidence at trial, in the fall of 2012 Lee Hall redirected $1.6 million in research funds towards the purchase of firearm silencers from Mark Landersman.  Mark Landersman was the owner of Advanced Machining and Engineering (AME), a small business in Temecula, California.  In November 2012, Mark Landersman, arranged for a machine shop owner to manufacture parts for  349 silencers and provided the blueprint for the silencers to the machine shop owner. 
Mark Landersman then picked up the silencer parts, and assembled them.  None of the 349 silencers bore serial numbers, and Mark Landersman paid the machine shop owner less than $10,000 for the labor and materials to manufacture the silencers.   On February 13, 2013, Mark Landersman shipped four boxes containing the silencers from California to a facility in Maryland where they sat for several weeks before being seized by NCIS agents in early April 2013.  The silencers were subsequently tested by a Department of Navy testing facility and failed a series of tests, including flash and sound suppression.

This case was initiated by NCIS and investigated by NCIS, and the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Morris Parker, Patricia Haynes, and Peter Hyun are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:13cr419.