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Orlando men accused of coup plot

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 27, 2006

ORLANDO - The Orlando company that employed three Americans captured in Congo while working for a presidential candidate identified the men Friday.

Joseph Robinson, 47, of Orlando; Kevin Billings, 48, of Orlando; and Seth Taylor of San Diego were captured May 19 by government forces on suspicion of plotting a coup ahead of national elections. The three were working for candidate Dr. Oscar Kashala, providing security and campaign consulting through AQMI Strategy Corp.

"For the first four days of their detainment, they were not allowed any contact with the outside world. To this day, they have not been charged with anything," company spokesman Marc Middleton said Thursday, adding, "and quite frankly we're perplexed as to why they're being held."

They were among 32 Kashala security team members taken into custody.

Robinson was a former captain for the Orlando Police Department and served as deputy chief of staff for Orlando Mayors Glenda Hood and Buddy Dyer. Billings was a Secret Service agent during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Taylor was a subcontractor hired by AQMI to provide security.

The U.N. spokesman in Congo's capitol, Kinshasa, has said the organization believes the arrests were an attempt at political manipulation.

[Last modified May 27, 2006, 07:37:43]