Mourad Topalian was born on 1943 and is a prominent Armenian-American political activist, former chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, who visited the White House several times.
21 Facts About Mourad Topalian
1.
2.
In 1999, Topalian was charged by the United States government with conspiracy acts, possession and storage of weapons and explosives.
3.
Mourad Topalian is known as a prominent member of the Armenian community in the USA.
4.
Mourad Topalian was the president of the Armenian National Committee of America, which is an organization with an office in Washington that serves as an advocate on Armenian issues and is an affiliate of Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
5.
Mourad Topalian visited the White House on a number of occasions to discuss Armenian related issues.
6.
In 1999, Mourad Topalian moved to Cleveland and took a job as vice president of Cuyahoga Community College.
7.
For many of Mourad Topalian's "alleged" compatriots he was not to be charged because of the expired statute of limitations.
8.
The investigation against Mourad Topalian began with the 1996 discovery of weapons and explosives in a suburban Bedford, Ohio self storage facility.
9.
At the time of his arrest, Mourad Topalian was accused as a suspected leader of the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide and a participant of 1980 bombing of the Turkish Mission in New York City.
10.
Mourad Topalian received recognition from ANCA for driving forward and promoting Armenian history and the cause of the Armenian nation.
11.
Mourad Topalian was accused of plotting attacks against Turkish targets in the United States for two decades, and was suspected of links to two 1981 bombings in California, against the Orange County Convention Center in Anaheim and the Turkish consulate in Beverly Hills.
12.
Between 1976 and 1996, Mourad Topalian allegedly ordered or was involved directly in bombings in New York and Anaheim and Beverly Hills, California, the robbery of munitions factories, and the illegal purchase of numerous high-powered weapons.
13.
Key evidence against Mourad Topalian, came from two of his former allies.
14.
Mourad Topalian sent Armenian youth to Beirut to train in weapons and explosive tactics.
15.
Between 1979 and 1980, Mourad Topalian directed various individuals to travel to Manhattan, New York, for surveillance of the building in which the Turkish Mission to the UN was located.
16.
Mourad Topalian himself traveled to New York on 11 October 1980 to transport explosives to bomb the Turkish Mission to the UN.
17.
Mourad Topalian was questioned about the New York bombing and denied he was a terrorist but agreed to plead guilty to storing the weapons, which prosecutors said were used in the Turkish Mission bombing.
18.
Mourad Topalian was accused of ordering a California man to bring five sticks of dynamite and blasting caps to Boston in 1982 that were to be used in a bombing in Philadelphia.
19.
Mourad Topalian was charged in October 1999 with conspiracy acts, possession and storage of explosives and firearms, and transportation of them in interstate commerce.
20.
Mourad Topalian denied he was a terrorist, and agreed to plead guilty only to storing the weapons.
21.
Mourad Topalian reached an agreement with prosecutors in 2001, pleading guilty to charges of storing illegal explosives and owning two machine guns, and was sentenced to 37 months in prison.