Forget this being the summer of sharks—it's the summer of Russians behaving badly! First, it was a cadre of "deep cover spies," including a NYC party girl. Now it's a cosmetology student who was trying to smuggle night vision scopes back to Mother Russia. Anna Fermanova, who lives in Texas now, was stopped at JFK Airport back in March because, according to the Smoking Gun, "The weapons sights cannot be exported without approval from the Department of State since the items are considered munitions covered by the Arms Export Control Act."
Fermanova was arrested earlier this month, after she returned from her overseas trip. Apparently she was being investigated back in February, as she was looking for a Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight, which the feds say is "designed to be affixed to a rifle, such as the M4 assault rifle." Plus, the serial numbers and other ID numbers were blacked out on the sight and other night vision items she had her bags. However, her lawyer claims she was going to sell the scopes to big game hunters—hey, aren't humans the big game?—and tells the Daily News that it "looks a lot worse than it really is... She's a nice Jewish girl who lives with her sweet Latvian parents. There's no terrorism link. There's no espionage."
Fermanova is currently at her parents' home in Texas; she's due in Brooklyn Federal Court later this summer. She told the Post, "I am a US citizen. I grew up in America. I am not a spy -- that is just funny. I am freaking out right now." The Smoking Gun notes inevitable comparisons to Anna Chapman, "As seen here, like the 28-year-old Chapman, Fermanova's Facebook page is stocked with photos likely to make her a tabloid favorite." Or, as Gawker put it, "According to her booking papers, Anna is 5'6" and has a belly ring. According to Facebook, she likes slutty Halloween costumes and pointing at the camera when she's drunk."
