The exquisitely-monikered and equally notorious Monsieur Jacques Monsieur (or Mister Mister as he is affectionately known here)(pictured on the left) was nabbed last Friday when he arrived in New York and then sent to Mobile, Alabama, to face charges that he conspired to export F-5 jet engines and parts to Iran. In February 2009, Monsieur allegedly contacted an undercover U.S. agent looking for F-5 engines and parts. He then met with the undercover in both Paris and London.The indictment alleges that after those meetings, in July 2009, Monsieur wired $110,000 to an account in Mobile, Alabama, in payment for F-5 parts, and the rest, as they say, is l’histoire.

Monsieur gained his notoriety beginning in the 80s and is alleged to have sold arms to countries subject to international arms embargoes, including Iran, Bosnia, Croatia, and Congo-Brazzaville. For his troubles (perhaps) he was “arrested” in Iran in 2000 on espionage charges and sentenced to ten years in prison, a sentence that was commuted to a $400,000 fine after he had spent eighteen months in jail.

In 2005, while living in France, Monsieur was extradited by Belgium on charges relating to arms sales to Congo-Brazzavile. After a trial in Belgium in 2008 he was given a suspended four year sentence. And not long afterwards he contacted the U.S. undercover agent in an attempt to buy F-5 engines and parts for Iran.

In 2004, in the sole press interview Monsieur has ever given, he told Radio France Internationale that he wasn’t an arms dealer but was instead a spy and that his job as an arms merchant was just a cover. In fact, Monsieur claimed he had “relations” with the CIA, which he “preferred” not to describe in detail. He also claimed to be acting for the DST, the French counter-espionage agency. Needless to say this is neither a surprising nor a credible defense to charges that he was running arms to countries subject to international embargoes.

Of course, all this raises several questions. Why would Monsieur, after being convicted and imprisoned in Iran for espionage then attempt to acquire aircraft parts for Iran or, as this post title asks, why would he start feeding the hand that bit him? Or perhaps the mysteriously commuted ten year sentence was a ruse of some sort.

Even more intriguing, what on earth was Monsieur doing flying to New York? Or perhaps the flight wasn’t, er, exactly voluntary. The DOJ press release is conspicuously silent on this little detail.