Ex-Green Beret, son plead guilty to helping Carlos Ghosn escape Japan
A former Green Beret and his son both pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that they helped ex-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn in his dramatic escape from Japan, according to reports.
Michael Taylor, 60, and his 28-year-old son Peter Taylor smuggled Ghosn — who was facing charges that he misled Nissan investors and enriched himself at his company��s expense — by posing as musicians carrying equipment to avoid airport security checks in December 2019.
Ghosn, who was hiding inside an audio equipment case, was then flown all the way from Tokyo to Lebanon in December 2019. He claimed he is innocent and was escaping a “rigged” Japanese justice system.
The father and son are facing up to three years in prison. Another trial date is scheduled for later this month.
The pair were sent from the US to Japan in March to stand trial following a months-long extradition battle in which their attorneys claimed they could face torture in Japan. They have reportedly been held in solitary confinement in the same Tokyo jail where Ghosn was detained years earlier.
The elder Taylor has a long history in international private security and aiding escapees — including helping the New York Times free one of its reporters who was kidnapped by the Taliban, according to the Times.
Michael Taylor and his son, both Americans, were paid $1.3 million for their roles in Ghosn’s escape and requested an additional $500,000 to help with legal fees after Japan sought their arrest.
To plan the escape, Michael Taylor frequently visited Ghosn’s childhood home of Lebanon in 2019, according to the outlet. Ghosn’s wife Carole reportedly sought out their help.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Ghosn suggested that Taylors’ guilty pleas could have been made under duress.
“How can you trust a statement made by a person in a hostage justice system?” said Ghosn, who is still in Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.
Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive who allegedly helped Ghosn hide earnings, is also standing trial in Tokyo and faces up to 15 years in prison. Kelly denies the charges.
With Post wires
