he put down the pipe , crossed his arms , and announced , `` it took five of my best corporate and financial experts to ferret this out : the altman group owns an arms manufacturing firm called consolidated defense , inc. as with many of altman 's holdings , this one 's hidden behind a paper trail that boggles the mindcsubsidiaries , associated companies , holding companies , satellite companies ... you name it , the ownership winds through a quicksand intended to deceive .