A new bio of Arnon Milchan — who, among other things, produced the movie “Pretty Woman” — alleges that he had a secret life as a spy and links him to an 1980s criminal export case. The book, Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon – Arnon Milchan, by Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman, is a subject of a report today in Haaretz, which gives the details.

According to the Haaretz story, Milchan was recruited by Shimon Peres to work for the Israeli spy agency LAKAM which was tasked with making purchases for Israel’s nuclear program

For years, Milchan operated in secret, yet in the mid-1980’s U.S. customs uncovered an attempt to smuggle “switches” –- equipment that can be used both for medical purposes and for nuclear weapons manufacture -– by the California-based Milco company, owned by Milchan. The company’s CEO, Richard Kelly Smyth, was arrested and released on bail. He fled the country soon after.

Smyth was declared a fugitive, and according to some reports found refuge in Israel. In 2001 he was captured in Spain and was brought back to the U.S., where he stood trial and was incarcerated. The FBI began an investigation into Milchan’s affairs, yet he has never been charged.

According to the book, right after the “switches” fiasco Milchan called his friend Peres, then prime minister, and asked for his help in dealing with the Ronald Reagan administration. Milchan is quoted in the book as saying he never received money for his services, and that everything he did was for the state of Israel.

Laura Rozen, whose post alerted me to the story, notes that the switches were krytrons, which are used to trigger spark gap switches to detonate nuclear devices. Laura also notes that Richard Kelly Smyth was not incarcerated upon his conviction but received parole because of his old age.

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