Code name for U.S. Army counterintelligence operation that led to investigations about the mismanagement of some $300 million in black operations funds over a five-year period. Some critics of such operations saw Yellow Fruit as a precursor of Iran-Contra.
The accounting of the funds was made difficult because they were "laundered" so that they would be untraceable to any U.S. source.
Investigations into the spending led to the courtsmartial of three Army officers and a sergeant. In the most severe punishment, in Nov. 1986 Lt. Col. Dale E. Duncan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, fined $50,000, ordered to forfeit $3,350 a month in salary for 10 years, and dismissed from the service. He was convicted of diverting secret funds to his own use while running a proprietary company in connection with Yellow Fruit. Much of the testimony in the courts-martial of Duncan and the others was secret; details of the operation were not made public. Duncan served two and a half years, paid $20,000 of the fine, and forfeited $90,000 in pay. He was paroled in 1989.
A military court reversed the conviction, saying, "There appears to have been little guidance from higher echelons concerning the handling of funds within the cover intelligence community other than the concern of 'live your cover' and 'accomplish your mission.'" The court ruled that he had not been guilty of criminal misconduct.
The inquiry began in 1983 and included audits of secret funds handled by the Delta Force, an elite unit assigned to deal with terrorists and hostage rescue missions.
