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Accused Perot Staffer Led '79 Hostage Rescue

The figure at the center of Wall Street's latest insider-trading scandal also played a key role in another drama: the daring 1979 rescue of two American hostages held in Iran that was financed and orchestrated by H. Ross Perot.

Reza Saleh, a longtime employee of Mr. Perot's businesses who has lived quietly in Texas for 30 years, was accused by federal regulators Wednesday of making $8.6 million in illicit profits from Dell Inc.'s proposed purchase of Perot Systems Corp.

But three decades ago, Mr. Saleh played a vital role in a bold mission to rescue two Perot employees who were being held hostage in an Iranian jail, according to people familiar with that effort. The rescue was the basis of the book "On Wings of Eagles," by Ken Follett.
Read entire article at The Wall Street Journal