FILE - This Tuesday Nov. 16, 2010 file photo provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout in U.S. custody after being flown from Bangkok to New York in a chartered U.S. plane. The ex-Soviet officer turned arms dealer faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison at sentencing Thursday, April 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Drug Enforcement Administration, File)
FILE - This Tuesday Nov. 16, 2010 file photo provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout in U.S. custody after being flown from Bangkok to New York in a chartered U.S. plane. The ex-Soviet officer turned arms dealer faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison at sentencing Thursday, April 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Drug Enforcement Administration, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday Nov. 16, 2010 file photo provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout is shown in U.S. custody after being flown from Bangkok to New York in a chartered U.S. plane. The ex-Soviet officer turned arms dealer faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison at sentencing Thursday, April 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Drug Enforcement Administration, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? An ex-Soviet officer notorious for delivering weapons to dictators in war-torn countries is set for sentencing Thursday after he was convicted on terrorism charges.
Viktor Bout (boot) faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life. He has been jailed since his arrest four years ago in Thailand after he met U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration operatives posing as agents of a Colombian terrorism group. He was extradited to the United States for trial in 2010.
Prosecutors say the 45-year-old Russian businessman was ready to sell them up to $20 million in weapons including surface-to-air missiles to shoot down U.S. helicopters. His defense lawyer says the government case was a political prosecution and a disgrace. He has asked the judge to dismiss the conviction.
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