
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990                   TAG: 9004030098
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

NORTH ENTERS BODY-ARMOR BUSINESS

Oliver North and Joseph Fernandez, comrades-in-arms in the Iran-Contra affair, are back in business again. They're manufacturing and selling body armor - commonly known as bullet-proof vests - that North says he wears himself.

"I rely every day on the security of a GTI vest," says a blurb on the company's brochure, signed by Oliver L. North, chairman. "The comfort is unequaled, and most importantly, it provides the ultimate in body armor."

The pair, fired from their government jobs, are the sole proprietors of Guardian Technologies International. "It's our idea, our money and our effort," Fernandez said. "Ollie North is the chairman and I'm the president of the company."

Their vests are of a material called Spectra, made by aerospace manufacturer Allied-Signal, and Fernandez contended it is lighter than other material used in vests. Police officers don't like wearing body armor, he said, because it is too bulky.

"We are looking ahead for our future," Fernandez said. "Obviously, with our experience and background, we feel comfortable dealing with America's law enforcement community."

The eight-page brochure shows vests worn under shirts, over shirts, as safari jackets and rain coats and the outfits worn by SWAT teams. One of the models was North's body guard during his trial last year and on his speechmaking trips.

by CNB