Just as a mysterious weapons case began unfolding in Anchorage earlier this month, FBI agents 2,000 miles away in California knocked on the door of a 76-year-old retired accountant.
They wanted to know about Mark Avery, an Anchorage lawyer who over the past two years had bought or started a string of businesses here. Among the companies: Security Aviation Inc., an Anchorage-based air-charter company that rapidly expanded its fleet of aircraft in recent months.
Teams of armed federal agents raided Avery's Midtown office and airport hangars in Anchorage and Palmer on Feb. 2, seized eight military-style jets connected with Avery's companies and arrested one of his associates for illegally possessing rocket launchers.
It is now clear the probe stretched to the San Francisco area.
N. Dale Matheny, who serves with Avery and another man as trustees for a California-based charitable organization with assets of some $350 million, said federal agents showed up at his San Francisco-area home earlier this month.
Anchorage Daily News
They wanted to know about Mark Avery, an Anchorage lawyer who over the past two years had bought or started a string of businesses here. Among the companies: Security Aviation Inc., an Anchorage-based air-charter company that rapidly expanded its fleet of aircraft in recent months.
Teams of armed federal agents raided Avery's Midtown office and airport hangars in Anchorage and Palmer on Feb. 2, seized eight military-style jets connected with Avery's companies and arrested one of his associates for illegally possessing rocket launchers.
It is now clear the probe stretched to the San Francisco area.
N. Dale Matheny, who serves with Avery and another man as trustees for a California-based charitable organization with assets of some $350 million, said federal agents showed up at his San Francisco-area home earlier this month.
Anchorage Daily News
