NEW GROWTH BUSINESS--ARMING CARS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404030033-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: June 9, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000404030033-6
ARTICLE AFFEARED
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
9 June 1981
Industry analysts expect there to be
. 3,500 armored cars worldwide by the
end of this year. Mr. Medlin's comps.
vies have made 400 so far.
Medlin says his finished product will
resist rifle and rocket fire, bombs and
dynamite during the estimated seven
to 15 seconds that most attacks lasL
Three Attacks Noted .
To his knowledge he has yet to "lose"
a customer, although he says that three
of his cars have been attacked-
A Salvadoran colonel survivedan as-
sault in downtown San Salvador in
which his automobile took 35 rounds; a
van belonging to a member of Anasta-
sio Somoza Debayle's Government in
Nicaragua was struck three times by
rockets but remained intact, and a dy-
namite attack on a Medlin van in down-
town Guatemala City did not injure the
four military officials inside. ff
Securltv-ccnscious himself. Mr.
Medlin did not want any aictu= tak?n
in which he was clearly Identifiable. He
is also deliberatly vague about years he
t as a snyerriment
ce agent 1
.
Costa Rica.
Asked If he was working for the Central
7nt lli eTce-A- eessai.t, was
woLkiM Tor the united rates
r
meet.
Spec It* t*TbeNewyork Timm
HOLLYWOOD, Fla., - Richard C.
Medlin is a man with a light-hearted
approach to a grim business.
The calling card of his Custom
Armor Manufacturing Company
carries thre miniature holes above a
diagram of spent cartridges, and his
favorite parting shot for a client leav-
ing his shop with one of his custom-
made bulletproof vests is, "If you have
any trouble with that thing, you give
me a call.,'
It -isn't that he's 'ghoulish. It's just
that the growing need that edgy people
abroad feel to protect themselves from
terrorist attacks is making him rich.
He recently moved here to be near
its Latin American customers, who,':
makeup half of his business. Almost ail`
the rest of his clients come from Eu-
rope and the Middle East.
bir. Medlin has fashioned armored
cars for Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of
West Germany, King Juan Carlos of
Spain and for the Presidents of El Sal-
vador, Guatemala, Colombia, Hon-
duras, Panama, Iraq and Mexico.
Though the Shah was forced to leave
Iran before receiving his own car, be
rode in others during exile stays.
Mr. Medlin constructed a bomb-
proof case for the $2.5 million Guten-
berg Bible at the Humanities Re.
searchCenter in Austin, Tex., and a
special bullet resistant wagon for the
favorite horse of a Salvadoran million-
aire. The armored van he designed for
the Saudi royal family has seats that
elevate through two sun roofs to permit
hunting with falcons in tranquillity.
It is a business that virtually did not
exist until five years ago, Mr. medlin
said. When he and a partner opened his
original company in San Antonio in 1978
they planned to armor 14 cars a year
but were soon making ?10 a month to
meet immediate demand. They did $1.7
million of business In 1977, $3.2 million
in 1978 and $8.4 million in 1979.
He left.the San Antonio company last
year and opened his own concern here.
in his first year in Florida he says he
has done $700,000worth of business....
In troubled capitals like Guatemala
City and San Salvador, it is now com-
mon to see a high-riding bulletproof
Cherokee Chief, Jeep Wagoneer, Chev-
rolet Suburban or International Scout
side by side with the traditional Mer-
cedes-Benz in the circular driveways
leading to the homes of the rich. Even
Central Americans under no direct
threat have been known to order ar-
mored cars for their status value.
The Scout, often used as an escort
vehicle, can be armored for $19,375 at
W. Medliu's rates. For 550,990 he will
operate on a standard-size Cadillac,
Lincoln, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Cher-
okee, Wagoneer or Suburban. BMW's,
Mercedes and Cadillac limousines cost
$58,973. These prices are in addition to
the purchase price of the auto.
Gun Ports and Tear Gas
What the consumer gets Is a vehicle
with the entire passenger compart-
ment armored, including curved wind-
shield and side glass, floor armor, pro-
tected batteries and fuel tanks and gun
ports for returning fire. For an extra
$2,100, Mr. Medlin will install tear-gas
outlets hidden behind fender reflectors !
that at the turn of a dashboard switch
produce a 50-foot toxic cloud. .
Other specialties include a remote.
control ignition system for starting the {
car from a distance sufficient to let one
be an observer of an engine bomb and
not its victim 1$975); ramming bump-
ers for offensive driving ($594) and bul-
letproof wheels made by bolting a
doughnut-shaped portion of polycar-
bonate to the inside of the rim that en-
ables the car to keep rolling even after.
the tire has been deflated ($2,000).
As expensive as? the vehicles.are,
they can save money for the person
paying high-priced kidnapping and
ransom insurance. Mr. Medlin said
that Lloyd's of London had waived
premiums and otherwise reduced the
cost of such policies forhis customers.
Behind this decision are statistics
that show that 90 percent of assassin-
tion attempts take place while the In-
tended victim Is riding In a car.. Mr. _ )
- Born in Hereford. Tex., 38 years ago,l
Mr. Medlin has specialized in elec.'
tronic surveillance, psychological'
stress testing and polygraph reading.'
By 1975, he was doing private consult
:.ing work in Mexico and decided he
could Improve upon the kind of ar-
mored car that executives and govern-
meat officials used there.
.Using a method of fitting soft body I
armor like that used In lightweight;
vests to rigid materials, he was able to
.
n M.-.M w
ch lighter war
co
u
leave a lot to be desired," said Carmine
Pellosi, vice president of CCS Com-
munication Control, a New York manu-
facturer and distributor of security
products that purchases Medlin cars.?-
"Their standards are so low that they
do not pass threat-level tests," he
added. "But when you aik for Medlin to
build one to a certain standard, the'
company does It."
Mr. Pellosi added that all Medlin
can were rated at the highest "threat
level," meaning they are designed to
withstand long rifles. Ji
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000404030033-6