WORMSCAN: WORMSCAN [PART 3 1993-1995]
Involvement of Politicians, Judges, Lawyers, & Police in the Drug Business
NOTES: I made a few corrections to spellings but left the original document mainly untouched. All dates are in YYMMDD format. These files are only a portion of the entire WORMSCAN file and includes all entries from 1993 to 1995. I had to break it up due to length. There are hundreds of pages.
This is a continuation of the file named WORMSCAN.
WORMSCAN: WORMSCAN [PART 1 1981-1987]
WORMSCAN: WORMSCAN [PART 2 1988-1992]
930127, Miami, FL, WSFC (ABC?). Three customs agents and an FBI agent are charged with drug trafficking, bribery, and money laundering in Miami, FL.
930128, Lexington, KY, KET. Former Lexington Police Officer Danny Murphy has his charges of use of a machine gun while drug trafficking overturned in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, OH. He still is in prison for murdering his wife. In a personal conversation with DPB at Rainbow 93, an individual volunteered that his brother-in-law was one of the fronts for Murphy, holding title to Murphy's estate in alternate years. Murphy beat the machine gun rap because the gun was in the attic and the pot was in a freezer in the basement, this being a sufficient distance that he could not be using his machine gun in perpetration of a drug crime.
930201. Ex-Miami cop Armando Garcia is on the FBI most-wanted list. This may be one of the Miami's Finest who was given a mistrial for robbing and killing cocaine smugglers. See 870202.
930209, Beattyville, Lee Co, KY, WMKZ. Beattyville Chief of Police Omer Noe of Lee County, KY, is resentenced to 12 years 7 months in prison for his part in in the "Operation Walking Short" drug smuggling. The Appeals judge was Eugene Siler, who had originally tried Noe. Not that Noe doesn't deserve another 12 consecutive life sentences for hypocrisy, but has a judge ever overturned himself on appeal?
930225, Louisville, KY, KNN. Jefferson County policeman Ron Pike is convicted of possession of two automatic weapons. No mention of any connection with his planting drugs and weapons on Ricky Lee Pardu who was informing on their security service. See 920826, 930723. WSEK says that the trial for drug planting is scheduled for April 6.
930318, Lexington, KY, KET. Former Lexington, KY, police officer Danny Murphy is convicted of possession of a pistol while marijuana trafficking and sentenced to five years in prison. He was formerly acquitted of possession of a machine gun while engaged in his moonlight business. See 930128 & 910719 & 900822 & 900820 & 900816 & 900608.
930120, St Regis, KY, WKYU. St Regis Police Captain Epperly pleads guilty to planting drugs to facilitate the arrest of an inconvenient criminal. It is unclear whether this concerns the case of David Trigley or that of Ricky Pardu. See 920826 & 910108.
930226, Lebanon, KY, KNN. Three State Troopers bound and robbed Garry Mattingly and family near Lebanon, Marion County, KY. The authorities say that the armed robbers were actually phony state police. There may be no connection, but the name Mattingly is famous in marijuana production. See 820000 & 920120.
930409, Lexington, KY, KET. Former (fired in 1979 for insubordination after 8 years of service) Lexington Police Officer Bill Canan is arrested by Federal Marshals on charges of drug trafficking and intimidation of a witness. Officer Canan allegedly bought 24 oz of cocaine and then threatened to kill Robert Scott, his supplier turned Federal Witness, if he squealed. This is part of an investigation ongoing for 1.5 years. Police Chief Walsh vows that he is "finally gonna clean up the Good Ole Boy Network" [his words]. See 850912, 930716.
930416, Lexington, KY, WSEK. Ella Flynn, mother of Melanie Flynn who was disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1977, claims police ineptitude & indifference. Mrs Flynn claims that she gave police many details of names, places, times, etc, which were ignored. She also claims that part of the case file was disappeared. Chief Walsh denies all these false allegations. This re-surfaced upon the arrest of Bill Canan former Lexington Police Officer on cocaine trafficking charges. Rumors at the time of Melanie Flynn's disappearance were that she knew too much about the Lexington Police drug trafficking. See 850912, 870112, 871123, 890225, 900820, 930409, Sally Denton, The Bluegrass Conspiracy, Doubleday, 1990.
930416, Covington, KY, WSEK. Undercover Narcotics Officer Randy Sebastian is charged with perjury for lying to obtain a search warrant on Dr Patricia Canfield. Officer Sebastian resigned when confronted.
930421, Lexington, KY, KET. Former Lexington Kentucky Police Officer Bill Canan is indicted on 14 counts. Charges include drug possession and distribution in '88, possession of a fake DEA ID, and possession of a pen gun and machine gun. His lawyer is Fred Peters. One of the character witnesses at the bail hearing was the same as for Danny Murphy. (See 900608, 900816, 900820, 900822, 910719, 930128, 930318). The Judge had enuf sense not to pay any attention to him this time. Officer Canan is ajudged to be a danger to the community and an escape risk.
930528, Christian County, KY, WKYU. Sheriff William Dillard has his conviction overturned on appeal. Thus he really did not partake in cocaine trafficking or take bribes for protection of the drug industry in his dominion. See 900118, 900823, 901011.
930624, Paducah, KY, WKYU. Captain William Gorden of the Narco Squad is fired for recording and reporting corruption in the drug unit by city manager Pennington. A whistle blower lawsuit is filed.
930626, Catletsburg, KY, WMKZ. Timothy Woods (39), a Kentucky Department of Forestry Ranger, is arrested for cultivation of marijuana, tending a patch on a hillside, while on duty in uniform.
930716, Lexington, KY, KET. Former Lexington Police Officer and accused cocaine trafficker Bill Canan has his 13 counts (didn't it used to be 14 counts?) dropped to 6 counts. Apparently he is still charged with threatening to kill a confidential informant. See 850912, 930409
930722, Paducah, KY, WSEK. The Western Kentucky Narcotics Unit "needs to restore credibility", and be moved out of Paducah city hall. The corruption ridden operation was funded by $220K in state money and $73K in local taxpayer extortions.
930723, Louisville, KY, WHAS-KET. Louisville, KY, police officers Ron Pike and James Goodman are convicted of planting cocaine on a Federal informant, George [wasn't it Ricky Lee?] Pardu. George Tingley was found not guilty. See 920826, 930225
930803, Kentucky, KNN? Just a piece of a story about someone agreeing to resign from the State Police in face of corruption charges.
930806, Harlan Co, KY, WMKZ. Howard Taylor, Harlan County Kentucky Jailor, is accused of stealing two pounds of marijuana from the Sheriff's evidence room.
930819, Laurel Co, KY, WMKZ. FBI Confidential Informant Robert Foley is to go on trial for the murder of Rodney (Robert) Vaughn and Harry Lynn Vaughn after being released from other murder charges upon request by FBI Handler "Ron Poole".
930819, Louisville, KY, WKYU. The sentence of David Tingley was ruled too lenient, even tho he testified for The State. David Tingley had turned State Witness against his brother Deputy Sheriff George Tingley in his trial for planting drugs on another narc.
930802, Laurel Co, KY, KNN. Robert Foley, confidential informant for the FBI, was convicted of the murder of Rodney and Harry Lynn Vaughn. The jury did not believe his claim of self defense.
930820, Whitesburg, Letcher Co, KY, WSEK. Circuit Court Judge Larry Collins decides to plead guilty to bribery for taking marijuana to protect drug dealers, among other indiscretions.
930824, Whitesburg, KY, KNN. Letcher County Circuit Court JudgeLarry Collins pleads guilty to bribery for extorting drugs and money from James Braddock. Several other charges are dropped.
930825, New York City, Paul Harvey. Calling themselves The Morgue Boys (their meeting place was in an old morgue), 35 of New York City's Finest preyed on drug dealers, robbing them of cocaine, guns and money.
930905, Paducah, KY, WKYU. The Western Kentucky Drug Task Force has been found to have been the subject of "loose management by the Paducah Police". Some Kentucky Cabinet Committee has investigated.
930916, Letcher Co, KY, WFLW. Howard Ratliff, Jr (49 or 59) of Kings Creek, Letcher Co, KY, was arrested while cutting more than 400 marijuana plants in a field behind his house. Officer Ratliff is a fifteen year veteran Forest Ranger. His uniform is being subjected to forensic analysis to determine if he wore it in his marijuana patch (apparently a greater crime).
930917, Louisville, Jefferson Co, KY, many. Jim Greene, former High Sheriff of Jefferson County, Kentucky, goes for a six month vacation at Maxwell AFB (AL?) for tax evasion. Also $128,000 fine. He seemed bitter about it, complaining that he had made a deal for no prison time. He declared that, "My debt to society will be completely paid after this six months." This contradicts the three year probation. All they could make stick to Al Capone was tax evasion, too.
931019, London, KY, WSEK. Former Lexington, KY, Police Officer Bill Canan's trial started on 12 Oct. Today he took the witness stand and swore that he had never engaged in the trafficking of cocaine!! More to come, I expect. See 850912, 930409, 930716. He was eventually convicted on the cocaine trafficking and witness intimidation charges & not guilty on the weapons charge.
931104, Kentucky, KET-WAVE. Joseph Shawn Kelley and three other National Guard members of GMTF plead guilty to padding their expense accounts in last summer's War on Drugs.
931108, Evansville, IN, WKYU. A trial starts today at Vanderburgh Circuit Court for Richard Witlow (38), an Evansville, IN, narcotics agent. Witlow is charged with attempted bribery, attempted theft, and theft. Witlow solicited $100,000 to disappear evidence from Harris Roach, father of Tocio Roach, who was convicted of cocaine trafficking along with his wife. The FBI was present at the cash pickup. Witlow is also accused of stealing $6500, a semiautomatic pistol, and a gold bracelet while searching the home of Edward Cooper.
931113, Whitesburg, Letcher Co, KY, WKYU. Circuit Court Judge Larry Collins is sentenced to five years for taking a bribe to protect drug dealers. Also some other official has been implicated. See 921123, 921218, 930820, 930824.
931129, Caracas, Venezuela, USN&WR, p37. "At play in the fields of the spies". A somewhat confusing story about a CIA operation in Caracas. CIA case officer Mark McFarlin cooperated with Gen Ramo'n Guille'n Da'vila, the head of the National Guard antinarcotics unit. Guille'n told DEA & CIA officials in Nov 1991 that he had cooperated with two "unauthorized" shipments of cocaine to the United States. The 940704 USN&WR p 41 reports this as "knowingly allowing several shipments of cocaine from Venezuela to the United States."
931215, ???, Paul Harvey. Some cops somewhere got caught stealing money from drug dealers. Chief Kelley declares that he will root out corruption.
931216, Lexington, KY, WSEK. Lexington Police Officer Bill Canan has his convictions on cocaine trafficking, intimidation of witnesses, and carrying a false DEA badge upheld.
931228, NYC, NY, NPR. Judge Milton Mullins (sp) Commission releases a preliminary report on New York City Police corruption, drug trafficking, police brutality, etc. Judge Clean Hand decries the "Blue wall of silence".
940104, Lexington, KY, KET. Horrace Inman, 15 year veteran of the Lexington Police Force, is charged with felony possession of cocaine. The Police Department has no further comment.
940202, San Juan, Puerto Rico, "FBI This Week" (radio spot). Victor Zapata was arrested in Puerto Rico. The FBI claims to have been surveilling Victor Zapata for three years. Armando Garcia was arrested about two weeks ago in Columbia. These are ex Miami Police Officers wanted for racketeering, corruption, and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Garcia was on the prestigious FBI 10 Most Wanted List. No mention of assisting the suicide of drug smugglers. See 861024, 870207, 880105.
940218, Lee County, KY, KNN. Lee County, KY, Sheriff Brandenburg passes a lie detector test, proving that he was not responsible for the disappearance of 1650 marijuana plants worth $100,000 [must be real little plants] from evidence. This merited attention because his predecessor was Sheriff Mann, presently serving time for extortion and cocaine trafficking.
940222, Beattyville, Lee Co, KY, WKYU, WSEK. Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury last Friday on charges of conspiracy to distribute hundreds of pounds of Mexican and domestic marijuana. Their market was southeastern and eastern United States. 25 others were also arrested, tho no names were given. As of 22 Feb, Sheriff Brandenburg was being held without bond. The Federal investigation has been ongoing since Sheriff Mann was caught. See 940404.
940222, CIA Headquarters, MacNeil-Lehrer, KET. 940310, WSJ. Aldrich Ames and his wife Maria are arrested on charges of being Soviet spies in the CIA. Ames was head of the CIA narcotics intelligence for the Black Sea countries. Some think that the cash ($2.5 million at last count) did not all come from the Soviet KGB.
940223, Beattyville, Lee Co, KY, WSEK. Sheriff Brandenburg is released on $25,000 bail on drug conspiracy charges. Strangely, the charges are now cocaine trafficking.
940312, Hazard, KY, WSEK. Kentucky State Police Narcotic Officer Mark Lopez is indicted on five charges of forgery. What he forged was another officer's signature on reports on how he used money which was supposed to be used for undercover drug buys. He was also reprimanded for taking home ("I didn't steal it! Honest!!") vehicles seized in drug raids.
940317, Philadelphia, PA, AP. Two FBI agents are wounded, but they killed two criminals and wounded two others in a drug raid in Philadelphia, PA.
940317, WV?, WSEK. Over 70 criminals are having their cases reinvestigated after eight years because a State Police Forensics "Expert" falsified the evidence. Is this the Fred Zain who was acquitted on an assortment of perjury charges 951209? More in WORMSCAN.&
940318, Middlesboro, KY, KNN, WKYU, WSEK. Two Middlesboro, KY, city police and another former policeman are among eight charged with drug trafficking. This is the result of a FBI sting called "Operation Broken Shield". The investigation started October 92. Steeley Arlis Barnett and Garrett Russell are the greedy cops. Their business included OH, PA, and TN as well as Kentucky. 940401, WSEK. The FBI had wiretapped the home phone of Officer Barnett.
940326, Dorchester, Boston, MA, CNN. Hazaline (Acelynne?) Williams, a 75 year old retired minister died under the attentions of 13 narcotics agents who raided his home. No drugs were found. It is unknown what merited this attention.
940326, Miami, FL, CNN. Renee De Lacoma, a DEA agent who busted Manuel Noriega has been convicted of keeping $250,000 for himself.
940328, Boston, MA, NPR. Rev Williams was handcuffed and thrown to the floor. This was considered necessary, even tho he was a frail 75 year old. After ransacking his apartment and finding no drugs, it was noticed that the perpetrator had died choking on his own vomit. William's crime was to have his address confused with that of a drug dealer fingered by a confidential informant. The police have apologized to his widow, but maintain that because their informant was right twice before, they were within their rights. They even said that this shows just how dangerous drugs are to the community!
940404, Madison Co, KY, KET. Twice convicted murderer and sometimes FBI Confidential Informant Robert Foley (37) [still 37?] is on trial (moved to Madison Co) for the murder of four more persons in 89. [So that's before the Vaughn murders, & while he was working for the FBI?] Three bodies from Van Wert, Ohio, Kimberley Bowersocks (20), Lillian Cantini (26), and Jerry McMillan (36) and one from Laurel Co, KY, Calvin Reynolds (22) were found in the septic tank on a burnt-out farm near Baldrock in western Laurel County, KY. On September of 93, Foley was convicted of murder for disposing of two other persons who had become inconvenient to his operations. He was also earlier convicted in a single murder. See 911029
940404, Beattyville, Lee Co, KY, KET. Irvine Shouse (32), a prospective witness to the theft of pot from the Lee Co jail has unexpectedly become dead. No other reason for his demise was apparent. Sheriff Brandenburg is out on bond on charges of conspiracy to traffic in drugs. See 940222.
940411, Mt Vernon, KY, KNN. It has been determined by a county jury that Gary Shepherd forced the confrontation with GMTF, justifying his execution. But see a letter from his family's attorney in WORMSCAN.& Date: Thu Dec 01, 1994 9:07 am CST
940415, Harlem, NYC, NY, Paul Harvey. Twelve cops were caught in a sting operation. Mostly night shift officers were buying and selling drugs and guns. One Officer was caught on video tape buying a kilogram of cocaine for $10,000.
940420, Mena, AR, WSJ. "On the Mena Trail" by Edward Jay Epstein. CBS News recently focused two segments of "Eye on America" on Mena, AR.
1) In Reagan years, local airstrips were used to supply Contras. Supposedly Lt-Col Oliver North supervised the operations.
2) Reputedly cocaine was brought back on return trips, over 20 tons. Barry Seal was a pilot and government informant.
3) Money laundering of $9 million per week.
4) The strange lack of interest in the foregoing by the "Justice" Department.
_Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA_ by Terry Reed and John Cummings reports on the alleged conspiracy.
940429, Barbourville, Knox Co, KY, KNN. Senator Tom O'Dell Smith's conviction is upheld for solicitation of a $10,000 bribe for his efforts to reduce the sentence of a drug dealer. Senator Smith offered his services to the wife of the unfortunate citizen.
940504, Beattyville, Lee Co, KY, KNN. Beattyville, KY, Chief of Police Townsend is suspended following the strange death of drug dealer in Lexington who had implied involvement with the disappearance of marijuana from evidence.
940504, Louisville, KY, KNN. There is an investigation of police drug tactics as a result of the attack on a black police officer mistaken for a drug dealer a couple weeks ago.
940505, Leslie Co, KY, KET. Deputy Sheriff Lyn Doyle Parr and Roger Wells were sentenced for protecting marijuana dealers.
940506, Middlesboro, KY, KET. Middlesboro Policeman Garrett Lee Russell was given a postponement of his trial for running a multi-state marijuana trafficking ring.
940515, West Harlem, New York City, National Public Radio, All Things Considered, Jim Zorowley (sp?). The latest New York City cop scandal is 14 cops in the 30th precinct arrested and more to go for robbing drug dealers, shooting a man in custody, etc. The Knapp (sp?) Commission investigated systemic corruption, especially in the narcotics business. Also a Mallen (sp?) Commission last October. A "Blue Wall of Silence" was found where officers lied to protect each other. Also referenced was the 77th precinct in Brooklyn where in 86, 12 cops were stealing and selling drugs.
940518, Thailand, Paul Harvey. Ten politicians, including six present members of Parliament, are accused of drug dealing.
940601, Middlesboro, KY, KNN. Middlesboro Police Officer James Patterson pleads guilty to cocaine trafficking. Sentencing is scheduled for August. Note that as of 941104 he was still running loose and still doing coke.
940604, Louisville, KY, KNN. FBI Agent Withers is accused of heroin trafficking. He reputedly stole 100 pounds of heroin from the evidence room and sold it to dealers who were under FBI surveillance. Solicitations were by telephone and mail, and payment was to various Post Office boxes. Much of the evidence was found in a relative's home in Louisville, KY.
940610, Beattyville, Lee County, KY, KET? Sheriff Brandenburg is real careful when he busts 123 marijuana plants. He is under indictment for trafficking in marijuana confiscated last year.
940614, Hazard, KY, WKYU, KNN. A internal investigation hearing in Frankfort was indefinitely postponed for another of Kentucky's Finest yesterday. Hazard Post Kentucky State Police Officer Mark Lopez (28) is accused of stealing $2000 [not clear if of or in addition to] marijuana from evidence and threatening to kill an informant. WSEK says that an informant got $450, but Officer Lopez claimed $2475 in his report. No mention of how much marijuana he scored.
940621, Louisville, KY, KET\WHAS. Louisville Police Officer George Bell is busted for cocaine possession.
940628, Beattyville, KY, Kentucky Tonight, KET. Beattyville Police Chief Townsend is finally fired after being on suspension with pay since May. The fate of the 16,000 marijuana plants which were disappeared under his care is still unknown.
940707, New York City, NY, NPR. The (Judge Jim) Mollen (sp) Commission Report has been released documenting years of highly organized police corruption. Gangs of Our Finest rushed to crime scenes to collect the booty. They also used police equipment to break and enter and burglarize. They protected narcotics dealers, stole and resold narcotics and handguns (New York has a "Sullivan Law" prohibiting private ownership of handguns). When investigated, they lied and perjured. Honest(?) police and supervisors chose to ignore this. Three former Police Commissioners, including present National Drug Czar Lee Brown, "showed a willful blindness to corruption". The extent of this corruption is unknown, but "everywhere we looked for it, we found it". Suggestions on cleaning up NYC Police are hotly contested by the department.
940707, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY, WKYU. A NCIC All Points Bulletin is out for Special Deputy Badges issued by Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Green. Sheriff Green is presently serving time for tax evasion (he didn't report the money he extorted from his deputies).
940712, Eastern Kentucky, WKYU, WMKZ. An unnamed Eastern Kentucky man (25) pleaded guilty to selling marijuana within 1000 yards of a school in the Mexican dilution connection. He was sentenced to 8 months in jail. The real target is Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg.
940727, Lexington & Beattyville, KY, WSEK. Deceased drug dealer Irvine Shouse (32) died 03 Apr 94 of acute cocaine and diamulid (sp?) (a strong cancer painkiller) poisoning. No fowl [sick] play is suspected! Shouse claimed that Beattyville Police Chief Townsend tried to sell him part of the 1600 marijuana plants which were disappeared from evidence and mysteriously reappeared in his car trunk, but didn't live long enough to tell that to a jury.
940804, Middlesboro, KY, KNN. Former Middlesboro Police Chief Steeley Barnett and sidekick Gerald Pratt, superintendent of the streets department now want to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges.
940805, Jefferson Co, Louisville, KY, KNN. The Grand Jury is ready to indict 50 jailors and employees of the Jefferson KY County jail on charges of drug smuggling within the jail.
940906, Pikeville, KY, WKYU. The trial of Lee County, KY, Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg is scheduled to start today in Pikeville. Sheriff Brandenburg is accused of importing cheap Mexican marijuana to adulterate his higher quality domestic product.
940906, Pikeville, KY, KET. George Nobel, Jr, of Breathitt County pleas guilty in the Mexican adulteration operation. He is the fourth of seven to plea guilty. He got seven years. Sheriff Brandenburg still maintains his innocence.
940907, Pikeville, KY, KNN. Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg is said to have taken payments of "thousand of dollars per month" to protect the drug operations in his county, starting shortly after he was elected and ending in June 94 as his operation was taken down by federal action.
940909, Pikeville, KY, WKYU. Three more codefendants plead guilty in the Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg marijuana adulteration trial.
940909, Pikeville, KY, KNN. Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenburg is given a mistrial. The reason given is that his co-conspirators have all plead guilty, and it looks bad for him.
940912, London, KY, KNN, WSEK. The drug trial of Middlesboro Officer Garrett Lee Russell starts today. He is accused of three counts of dealing in cocaine, marijuana, and pain killers, 1 count of possession, 2 of use of a firearm in the commission of drug dealing. He was arrested in March in "Operation Broken Shield", after a 20 month investigation. He is accused of also being a USER, using, dealing and letting his customers use in his cruiser. All of his co-conspirators have pleaded guilty , but this apparently is not sufficient for a mere city cop to be given a mistrial.
940916, London, KY, WSEK. Middlesboro City Police Officer Garrett Lee Russell claims that FBI Informant Benny Meyers gave him free cocaine, and then demanded that Orificer Russell supply him with other drugs. He carried a firearm during these drug transactions because it was part of his uniform.
940916, London, KY, WKYM. Middlesboro Kentucky City Police Officer Garrett Lee Russell is convicted of drug dealing charges, but not of the use of a firearm in the commission of a drug crime charges.
941022, New Orleans, LA, Washington Post. Oliver North claims to have told the DEA of a Nicaraguan Contra supply plane returning with cocaine in 1985. Unfortunately, the DEA claims that there is no evidence that they were ever contacted. More in WORMSCAN.&
941103, This file distributed to Dan Drumm
941104, Middlesboro, KY, KNN. Middlesboro, KY, policeman James Patterson was sentenced to 16 months for drug trafficking. Since he is still using cocaine while free on bond, Judge ______ ordered him to prison immediately.
941117, Somerset, KY, WMKZ. Former Wayne County resident Tim Gregory (29) of 232 March St, Somerset, KY, was arrested for the 1991 murder of Gene Upchurch. Upchurch had been found shot in his truck near Mt Pisgah, Wayne Co. Rumors had it that he was a special confidential informant for the Wayne County Sheriff.
941211, New Orleans, LA, Reuter. Nine New Orleans police officers, including one arrested earlier for ordering a murder, were indicted for drug trafficking by a federal grand jury Wednesday. The officers were charged with protecting the storage and movement of more than 130 kilograms of cocaine. Indicted are: Len Davis, Davis' patrol partner, Sammy L. Williams Jr., Christopher Evans, Adam E. Dees, Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez, Keith Johnson, Brian K. Brown, Sheldon Polk and Larry Smith Jr., a juvenile division officer. More in WORMSCAN.&
941213, Mexico City, Wall Street Journal. _Garcia Is Enemy in Mexican War on Drugs: Cartel Lord Protects Empire With Bribery and Violence_, by Paul B Carroll and Dianne Solis. Juan Garcia Abrego is doing from $10 billion to $20 billion per year in cocaine trafficking. Bribes to officials are millions of dollars per month, including to Deputy Attorney General Javier Coello Trejo in 1989 and 1990. Guillermo Gonzalez Calderoni, former top narcotics chief in the federal judicial police amassed $6 million. Interestingly, witnesses have now recanted their stories. As an example of the "gateway theory", Garcia started by smuggling whiskey, graduated to marijuana, and then cocaine.
950124, Honduras, Reuters. A groups of airline workers and passengers filed suit charging they were imprisoned and tortured in Honduras in 1991 because US officials botched a drug sting and then waited over a week before seeking their release. The DEA hid 100 pounds of cocaine on a Belize Air International flight from Miami to Central America without informing the airline, the crew or local governments. The cocaine was discovered when the plane touched down in Honduras and all on board were arrested in what was touted as a Honduran government Drug War victory. The group was subjected to 12 days of prison and torture, including electric shocks and beatings with rubber hoses, before the USA finally acknowledged that the DEA had placed the coke on the plane.
950206, Beattyville, Lee County, KY, KNN. The day before their trial in Pikeville, Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenberg and two co-conspirators plead guilty on one charge of obstruction of justice in interference with a Federal Drug Investigation. But they are now NOT guilty on charges of taking bribes to protect the illegal drug business.
950216, NPR. The US military cost last year for its share of The Drug War was $13billion, mostly spent in Latin America. Gen. Barry R McCaffrey, head of the U.S. Southern Command encompassing all of Latin America, said that despite a well organized and costly counter-drug operation, ``these current efforts are not achieving their purpose.''
950218, Floyd Co, KY, WSEK. Deputy Judge-Executive James Stumbo, son of Floyd County Judge-Executive John Stumbo, pleads guilty to drug dealing.
950304, Lexington, KY, WSEK. (Former) Lexington Policeman and cocaine dealer Bill Canan loses his appeal. He claimed that the search warrant was based on old information, and the evidence should be suppressed. Also his diary of cocaine transactions deciphered on videotape by a confidential informant held, even tho the informant was subsequently deceased. His 17 year 8 month sentence is said to stand. Also, Lexington's biggest (for a while) cocaine haul resulted from the arrest of one of the criminals from this week's crack dealer collection.
950313, Honduras, Chicago Sun Times. * In March a federal judge awarded $871,000 in damages to six Belize nationals on the payroll of U. S. drug agents. The six had been hired to fly cocaine to Miami in order to sting the drug runners who would meet the plane, but at a scheduled stopover in Honduras, the cocaine was detected by Honduran officials, who arrested the six and subjected them to 12 days of torture before U. S. officials were able to intercede. [Chicago Sun Times, 3-13- 95]
950407, New York City, NY, NY Times. Three more cops arrested in the 30th Precinct of New York City on charges of robbing drug dealers. This brings the total to 33, out of a possible 192 officers, or 17% crooked. See 951207, 960105, 960110, 960112. More in WORMSCAN.&
950414, Puerto Rico. Big stink about drug trafficking corrupting Puerto Rican politicians. More in WORMSCAN.&
950422, London, KY, WSEK. Six time murderer and sometimes FBI Special Informant Robert Foley has another murder to his credit. Robert Tucker, beaten to a pulp by Foley has finally died from his injuries. Also there is a victim of another assault in 89. Foley demands a speedy trial, but the judge says that six death sentences are sufficient.
950502, Beattyville, KY, WKYU. Lee County Sheriff Douglas Brandenberg goes to federal prison for nine months for interfering with a drug investigation. But he got off on the drug trafficking charges.
950510, Beaver Dam, Dodge Co, WI, Wisconsin State Journal. Scott Bryant (29) was killed by Dodge County Sheriff Detective Robert Neuman. Neighbors claim that the door was kicked down without warning and Bryant immediately shot. The cops claim that they knocked and announced that they had a warrant for marijuana, but Detective Neuman also claims that he does not remember shooting Bryant! More in WORMSCAN.&
950531, Breathitt County, KY, KNN. Breathitt County, KY, Deputy Sheriff Larry Smith sentenced to 80 months and a $25,000? fine for marijuana distribution.
950606, Cali, Columbia, MacNeil-Lehrer. Bunch of indictments in the Cali cocaine cartel, which is credited with 80% of the cocaine in the United States. The total is 60 (?), mostly Columbians, who will not be extradited. The biggest catch is Michael Abbell, former US Justice Official Head of International Affairs prosecuting cocaine suppliers in Columbia, who retired and became a lawyer for the cartel. Donald Ferguson, another US Justice Official (?). A total of seven lawyers were caught, two who were former US Justice Officials, two others, and three who have already pleaded guilty. More in WORMSCAN.& See 971028, 980721
950610, New York City, AP, WKYU. New York City Police Chief promises to clean up corruption in The Force!
950608, Arizona. Unlawful arrest based on "computer error" does not lead to exclusion of evidence, at least drug evidence. More in WORMSCAN.&
950623, Latin America, NAFTA & Inter-American Trade Monitor. Cocaine and other drugs represent a large segment of agricultural production in the Americas and a significant aspect of international commerce. In 1993, in Colombia alone, coca planting was estimated at 42,000 hectares, with an additional 20,000 hectares in poppies and 6-8,000 hectares in marijuana. The Colombian government claims that coca and other drug production has doubled since 1993, due to defense of producers by guerrillas, who charge a tax for protecting growers, laboratories, and air fields. More in WORMSCAN.&
950623, Philadelphia, PA, Inquirer. Fifteen more drug cases overturned due to Philadelphia cops planting the evidence. The arresting officers in the cases - five former 39th District policemen - all have admitted they lied about drug arrests and searches in the North Philadelphia district between 1988 and 1991, and have pleaded guilty to federal charges. See 880601, 950623, 960120. More in WORMSCAN.&
950624, Mexico City, CBS, WBBM. Mexican drug kingpin and 35 federal police are arrested by Mexican army.
950700, Mena, AR, Penthouse. Report of drug smuggling into Mena, AR, by Barry Seal. Vast quantities of cocaine were imported under the protection of our CIA. See WORMSCAN.& and MENA
950704, NYC & Miami FL, MacNeil-Lehrer. Interview with Michael Dowd, former New York City cop, now in prison (20 years?) in Miami, FL. New York's Finest admits that he ripped off drug dealers for money and drugs, and used and sold cocaine, among other acts not normally part of the job of the police. Dowd brags how easy it was to lie and be covered by the other cops. He admits to hundreds of illegal acts, and could have done hundreds of times that. He admits to beatings, but no killings.
950705, Yuma, AZ, NPR. Yuma, AZ, Sheriff Deputy Jack Hudson shot and killed two other deputies. All were part of a drug task farce. Reasons for the executions are pending.
950712, Columbia, KY, WSEK. Adair County, KY, Magistrate Jeff Miller (34) was arrested yesterday. Magistrate Miller was stopped for no license plate, but fled. He was finally stopped on the Columbia Town Square. He was found to have a large quantity of marijuana, cocaine, crack, and prescription drugs, as well as guns and money.
950719, Chicago, IL, Sherman Skolnick.
Sherman Skolnick claims in Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 5 Num. 60
By 1986, the First National Bank of Chicago (a Rockefeller entity) had loaned billions and billions of dollars to mainland China which reneged on their promises to pay back in gold. To help China pay, the CIA and the Bank arranged for massive amounts of "China White", high purity heroin, to be smuggled in through Joliet, just south of Chicago. Supervising this was Bush's crony, Jim Thompson, Illinois Governor until 1990. The "China White" deluge is handled by Te-Wu in the U.S. and by a secret unit in the Chicago-based law firm, Winston & Strawn, of which Thompson is chairman.
950730
From: Dr. Linda D. Thompson - American Justice Federation
* 61 percent of federal inmates are confined for drug offenses.
* Of the rest, 10 percent of federal inmates are confined for robbery, 9 percent are serving time for firearms & explosives offenses.
950720, San Antonio, TX, UPI. Two high-ranking officials of the Maverick County Sheriff's Department were arrested by federal agents Thursday on drug distribution charges. Maverick County Chief Deputy Rudy P. Rodriques and Jail Administrator Miguel A. Omana were taken into custody without incident in Eagle Pass. A federal grand jury indicted the pair on a variety of charges, including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and marijuana, and aiding and abetting in the possession of drugs. More in WORMSCAN.&
950707, Yuma, AZ, AP. Sheriff's Deputy Jack Hudson was charged with murdering Yuma police Lt. Dan Elkins and Sgt. Mike Crowe of the state Department of Public Safety. This member of the elite drug task force was caught by the deceased while stealing confiscated guns and drugs. A third officer escaped to talk about it because Hudson's gun jammed. More in WORMSCAN.&
950803, Bogota, Columbia, Reuter. BOGOTA, Aug 3 (Reuter) - Thirty officers stationed at Bogota's international airport have been arrested and accused of helping cocaine couriers thwart airport security in return for big bribes, the CMI television news programme reported Wednesday evening. A National Police official confirmed to Reuters that the colonel in charge of airport security -- Leonel Mendoza -- and an unspecified number of airport police had been suspended from their jobs pending an investigation. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, declined to comment further, saying the matter was in the hands of prosecutors. CMI said police at the airport, who search passengers boarding flights abroad for drugs and use sniffer dogs to check baggage, allegedly took payments from traffickers in return for allowing travelers carrying narcotics to board international flights. The scandal was uncovered when five police officers who refused to participate in the scam were fired from their airport jobs by the colonel and decided to tell the prosecutor's office what was going on, CMI added. Prosecutors ordered surveillance of the airport police, uncovered the bribery and immediately ordered the arrest of 30 police accused of involvement, CMI said. Colombia is the world's top exporter of cocaine, one of the biggest sellers of marijuana and a growing player in the heroin trade. Large amounts of cocaine and heroin are smuggled out of the country concealed in the luggage or bodies of couriers paid by drug barons.
950805, Sydney, Australia, Reuter. A serving drug squad police officer, George Sabados, 27, of Sydney, was among 18 people arrested on Friday in what a police spokesman said could prove to be Australia's largest-ever drug haul. Several tonnes of cannabis resin originating in the Middle East, as well as illegal firearms, were seized from several boats in the tourist town of Hervey Bay, 250 km (155 miles) north of Brisbane on Australia's east coast, a spokesman for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said. More in WORMSCAN.&
950813, Latin America, SD UNION. Ex DEA Agent Celerino Castillo recants. While stationed in Central America, Castillo kept records on planes used in the U.S.-Contra resupply operation at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador---arriving with guns and departing to the United States with cocaine from Columbia. He claims that on January 14, 1986, he forewarned then Vice President George Bush of the U.S. government involvement in narcotics-trafficking. Had Castillo testified at the Iran-Contra hearings, he says North would have gone to jail and both Bush and President Reagan would have been impeached. Castillo says that on the basis of his work, he is convinced that drug money is what finances U.S. covert operations world wide. He believes that despite the "War on Drugs," there are more drugs coming into the United States today than 15 years ago and estimates that at least 75 percent of all narcotics enter the country with the acquiescence of or direct participation by U.S. and foreign intelligence services. It is they who must be held accountable for the flood of drugs on our streets today, he says. More in WORMSCAN.&
950819, Floyd County, KY, WKYU, KNN. Kentucky State Police raided the home of former Kentucky Supreme Court Judge Dan Jack Combs and produced 4 ounces of processed marijuana, one marijuana plant growing in a container, rolling papers, pipes, and scales. Judge Combs says that he has no idea of how such things might have gotten into his home. Really! Judge Combs retired in 1993 because of a "memory disorder". By 950822, His Honor Combs has decided that State Police have framed him by planting the evidence on him. More in WORMSCAN.&
950822, Pikeville, KY, WSEK. Pike County, KY, Judge Charles Huffman III pleads guilty to extorting drugs from Vivian Adams. His Honor Huffman demanded loracet (lorazepam??) for quashing drunken driving arrest. His Honor is subject to a twenty year prison sentence.
950825, Floyd County, KY, WKYU. Former Kentucky Supreme Court Judge Hiz Honner Dan Jack Combs now says that he uses marijuana to help him sleep. His memory disorder must have made him forget his previous claims. The first story was that he had no idea of how this diabolical substance could have appeared in his house. Then he claimed that the cops planted it. Stay tuned for the next story.
950826, Floyd County, KY, WSEK. Former Kentucky Supreme Court Judge Hiz 'Onher Dan Jack Combs now claims that he did not smoke marijuana while he was judging pot smokers. His insomnia began after he retired, and a friend suggested the evil weed. Stay tuned for the next claim.
950831, Cleveland, OH, AP. County Judge Michael Gallagher who favored legalizing drugs was indicted on cocaine charges after offering the drug to an undercover federal agent. More in WORMSCAN.&
950907, Atlanta, GA, Paul Harvey. Six cops in Atlanta are charged with stealing money while searching suspects and taking bribes to protect drug dealers.
950911, Washington, DC, Washington Weekly, Sarah McClendon. At a White House press conference, Sarah McClendon hypothesizes that drug money is financing the political campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats. More in WORMSCAN.& and MCCLENDN
950913, Somerset, KY, WSEK. The Somerset narcs have $25,000 left over which they must spend or loose it. They want a sniffer dawg, among other toys.
950913, Knott County, KY, WSEK. State Police Paul Sandlin was seriously burned while trying to burn some marijuana at Big Branch, near Hindman.
950914, Floyd County, KY, WSEK. Former Hiz 'Onher Dan Jack Combs says that he still smokes marijuana, in a WTVQ interview. His attorney says that Judge Combs has a memory disorder, and thus may not really mean it.
950915, ,,. FBI chemist claims that FBI evidence is falsified. Special Agent Frederic Whitehurst claims that evidence is rigged or slanted to produce the desired results.
Personal observation of David Perry Beiter, Analytical Chemist, US Army, 1966. The way that it was done in my lab was that The Boss (a psychic chemist) would reanalyze some of the tests in the privacy and security of his office. The offending bench chemist never saw these new and improved results. This falsification of chemical analyses was defended on grounds that it assured the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to The Army of The Government of The United States of America.
"And the Ends shall justify the Means."
950921. In a story about Gen Colin Powell friends, mention is made of the role of Richard Armitage, George Bush, Nugan Hand Bank, and the CIA in heroin smuggling. More in WORMSCAN.&
950923, San Diego Union-Tribune. Former DEA agent Celerino Castillo stated that he and three other ex-narcs were willing to testify before Rep. Robert Toricelli's proposed subcommittee on the intelligence community and human rights violations in Guatemala and Central America regarding the extent of direct involvement by the Central Intelligence Agency in international drug trafficking. The estimate he gave the newspaper was that approximately 75 per cent of the drugs that enter the United States do so with the acquiescence or direct participation of U.S. and foreign CIA agents. But this story has been around longer than has the War On Drugs. More in WORMSCAN.&
950923, Pacifica Radio Network, Daniel Sheehan interview. Daniel Sheehan of the Christic Institute claims that the CIA has assets working as reporters at most of the major media, under the name "Operation Mockingbird". More in WORMSCAN.&
950922, Tuscon, AZ, Reuter via pshe. A Mexican immigration official has been arrested after crossing the border with 233 pounds of cocaine hidden in his car, the U.S. Border Patrol in Tucson announced Friday. (Reuter)
950926, Nashville, TN, The Tennessean. Joining more than 60 other Federal judges, U.S. District Judge Thomas Wiseman spoke up in opposition to this country's "war on drugs" in an interview with The Tennessean. Judge Wiseman said that "We've spent $100 billion on the war on drugs and we're losing it." Wiseman recommends that the U.S. should legalize drugs. That, he says, is the only real way to win the war. "If you take the profit out of it, nobody will be pushing it. Wiseman, a 17 year veteran of the federal bench, said that when President Bush escalated the war on drugs in 1989 [Omnibus Crime Bill, Asset Forfeiture, DARE educational programs, Partnership for a Drug Free (sic) America, Mandatory minimum prison sentences, etc....-ed.], the country not only lost the battle, but also, "We've just about lost a generation of young people," he told The Tennessean.
950929, ??, ABC, WSEK. Another bunch of cops somewhere charged with drug trafficking.
950930, Muskogee, OK, AP. Choctaw County Sheriff J.W. Trapp took more than $150,000 to protect drug operations, in some cases by warning alleged drug dealers about federal investigation, according to a federal indictment handed up Thursday. Sheriff Trapp was convicted on 951209. More in WORMSCAN.&
951011, Monticello, Wayne Co, KY, Outlook. Circuit Judge Eddie C Lovelace is honored as The Outstanding Trial Judge of the Year, the Henry V Pennington Award of the Kentucky Association of Trial Attorneys. Quite a improvement from being reprimanded and suspended from the practice of law by the Feds for interfering with the Clinton County marijuana cultivation case against Clinton County Court Clerk Lloyd Stockton. Then again, maybe he is honored to be protecting his own kind.
951017, Mena, AR, Orlin Grabbe. Operation Black Eagle, under Oliver North, trafficked arms and drugs with Central America. Secure airfields used were Mena, AR; Fire Lakes, NV; Joplin, MO; and Iron Mountain, TX. Personnel were Oliver North, Navy Lt. Commander Alexander Martin, Major General Richard Secord, Felix Rodriquez, and Jeb Bush (son of Vice-President Bush). More in WORMSCAN.&
951018, Atlanta, GA, WSB. Police Lieutenant Carl Angel of Bowden(?) is arrested on drug trafficking charges. In addition to the cocaine, Lt Angel was relieved of over $10,000 in jewelry and guns. Lt Angel claims that he was set up, framed, had evidence planted on him, etc, because he was the new Police Chief Apparent. Either way, it is an interesting example of "Your Cops at Work".
951008, Herndon, VA, Ralph McGehee. Distributing CIABASE of covert CIA operations. Claims police harassment. More in WORMSCAN.&
951023, Washington, DC, The White House Press Secretary. Executive Order No. ##?? is issued prohibiting any transactions or dealings with Columbian drug traffickers. The CIA is presumably exempt. More in WORMSCAN.&
950304, San Francisco, CA, San Jose Mercury News (AP). San Francisco (AP) - Reporters have no right to see police files of public complaints of officer misconduct, even with the officers' names left out, a state appeals court ruled Friday. State law provides only for disclosure of data showing the number, type and disposition of complaints against officers, said the 1st District Court of Appeal. More in WORMSCAN.&
951104, Washington, DC, Reuter. WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Federal prosecutors have acknowledged that Ricardo Bilonick, a key witness in the drug trafficking trial of Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega may have been bribed into testifying by the Cali drug cartel, The Washington Post reported Saturday. The disclosure of an alleged payoff of $1.25 million was made in the government's written response to Noriega's demand for a new trial. More in WORMSCAN.&
951111, Lee County, KY, WSEK. It's official. Beattyville Police Chief Danny Townsend is elected to the Lee County, KY, Jailor's office. His opponent was ______ Noe, brother of Omer Noe, the former Beattyville Police Chief. Chief Danny Townsend is still officially a suspect in the disappearance of 1600 marijuana plants from a locked jail cell and the subsequent reputed offer of sale of the booty. The reputer died of an "overdose" [really!] six days later. Chief Omer Noe is serving 12+ years in prison for his part in "Operation Walking Short". See 900816, 921230, 930209, 940504, 940628, 940727.
951121, Vineland, NJ, New York Times. Gilbert Lopez, a former police officer in Vineland, NJ has been found guilty of charges of selling illegal drugs and protecting drug dealers. Lopez had claimed he had been conducting his own private investigation. He faces 5 - 40 years for the offenses for which he was convicted. (New York Times, 10/21/95)
951124, Washington, DC, US Dept of Justice. US JUSTICE DEPT. 1993 MISCONDUCT COMPLAINTS UP 78% OVER 1992 A report of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) shows a 78% increase of misconduct complaints against Department of Justice attorneys and assistant US Attorneys in 1993 over the number of such complaints in 1992. More in WORMSCAN.&
951125, Washington, DC, Dept of Justice. Federal convictions of public officials went from 40 in 1970 to 1065 in 1988. See WORMSCAN.&
951201, London, KY, WSEK. The FBI is disciplining agents for keeping Confidential Informant Robert Foley free on assorted murder charges. The parents of the Vaughn brothers are suing for $10.3 million.
951202, Naples, Italy, AP. Roger D'Onofrio, 72, former CIA agent, is arrested in Sicily on charges of money laundering and trafficking in arms, drugs, and radioactive materials. More in WORMSCAN.&
951204, Pikeville, KY, KNN, WSEK. Former (removed from office in 84 for drug abuse) Circuit Judge Randall Starnes is on trial for conspiracy and drug trafficking in cocaine and pain killers. Star witness is Judge Starnes' drug supplier, former Judge and Compromised Informant Charles Huffman, who has already been sentenced for drug trafficking. Judge Starnes is on tape bragging about snorting coke with Governor John Y Brown, Jr.
951205, Mexico City, Wayne Mann. In today's (Nov 25) issues of From: Wayne Mann In today's (Nov 25) issues of El Financiero and La Jornada, two of Mexico City's most influential daily papers, it is reported that Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican ex-president and now member of the board of directors at Dow Jones, along with his father and brother, maintained extensive joint business operations with Juan Garcia Abrego, one of Mexico's top drug traffickers. In earlier reports, Mr. Salinas' net worth had been estimated at between $10 and $25 Billion dollars, in spite of his comparatively miserly $400,000. salary as president.
951206, Pikeville, KY, WSEK. Another tape has Judge Starnes saying that State Representative Kelsay Friends, Jr started him on cocaine. Rep Friends denies that he ever did cocaine, and claims to have no idea of why Judge Starnes would perpetuate such an obvious falsehood. Stay tuned for the Jury's opinion.
951207, Pikeville, KY, WSEK. Judge Starnes is given a mistrial. Some jurors thought that the Feds had overstepped their bounds by blackmailing Judge Hoffman. The Other Judge agreed to be a Compromised Informant after he was caught extorting drugs from a client. Other jurors thought that Judge Starnes should have known better than to sell cocaine to someone who had just been busted.
951207, New York City, NY, Paul Harvey. Some NYC 30th Precinct cops are on the payroll of the drug dealers to protect them against other cops. See 950407, 960105, 960110, 960112.
951209, Fairmont, WV, AP. State Police crime lab chemist Fred Zain is cleared of felony perjury charges of fabrication of evidence. Texas wants to try him now, again on evidence fabrication. More in WORMSCAN.&
951209, Panama, New York Times. COPS & MILITARY OF US JOIN SAME OF LATIN COUNTRIES FOR JOINT DRUG OPERATIONS In an apparent big step toward police militarization, police forces of the US are operating jointly with the US military and police and military of Mexico and Central America in a 10 day drug operation. The operation involves border patrol, port inspections and road side stops and inspections. The US is providing radar, communications gear and intelligence (if they have any - Bob) according to an unnamed official.
951209, Mexico City, Los Angeles Times. Mexico and all seven Central American countries have carried out what a U.S. official Friday called the biggest multinational counternarcotics blitz in history, a ten-day operation enlisting the Mexican army, navy and police forces. The operation seized more than five tons of cocaine, nearly forty tons of marijuana, two aircraft, six ships and more than 650 alleged drug traffickers in Mexico alone. More in WORMSCAN.&
951212, Canberra, Australia, Extracted from The Canberra Times. Detective Sergeant Wayne James Eade, former head of the Gosford drug unit told the police Royal commission yesterday that he was not corrupt. Detective Eade was filmed secretly, ordering a child sex pornographic movie, watching X-rated videos and engaging in oral sex with a woman who gave him cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis. More in WORMSCAN.&
951221, Minneapolis, MN, Star Tribune. Stanley J. Capistrant, described as a veteran city police narcotics officer is under investigation for stealing nearly $200,000 from the city's asset forfeiture "trust" fund. More in WORMSCAN.&
951221, Sydney, Australia, AAP
Date: Wed, 27 Dec 1995 20:48:45 +0000
From: Peter Webster
To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Subject: Australia News
Message-ID: <199512272044.VAA10050@hades.monaco.mc>
SYDNEY, Dec 21 AAP - The Academics' Group of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation said criminals would prosper and police corruption would continue as long as drugs were outlawed.
Written under the chairmanship of Peter Baume, the group said: "Surveys suggest that up to five million Australians have used the banned substance cannabis.
"Unless there is major reform to drug laws, it is inevitable that drug-related corruption will continue and that those subverting the processes of law and control will remain one step ahead of anything that parliaments or judges can do."
AAP kr/msk
951222, Cuyahoga County, OH, New York Times. Cuyahoga County, Ohio Judge Michael Gallagher faces up to 20 years in prison, $1 million in fines and loss of his law license after pleading guilty to federal cocaine distribution charges. What actually happened was that he offered to share a line of coke with his supplier, who turned out to be a undercover narc. It is claimed that Judge Gallagher's well known position on the Drug War had nothing to do with his being targeted. On 960320, Judge Gallager was sentenced to a year in prison, fined $20,000, and three years probation. More in WORMSCAN.&
951227, Los Angeles, CA, LA Times. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, beset in recent years by charges of racial discrimination and harassment, was accused Tuesday of falsely arresting and routinely planting evidence on minority group members in heavily black and Latino communities. Aurora Alonso Mellado, a five-year deputy says that in seven weeks of being trained as a patrol deputy last summer, she found that her trainer was "engaging in illegal activities, including planting evidence, using throwaway guns, transferring drugs, assaulting and battery of civilians, and violating of suspects' civil rights." The race-related allegations are reminiscent of testimony by a lead prosecution witness in a string of federal cases in recent years involving drug money skimming. Robert R. Sobel testified that as a former sheriff's sergeant in Lynwood and nearby communities, he frequently arrested African Americans who were simply walking the streets and had committed no crime. Sobel later acknowledged in court lying more than 100 times in his testimony in such cases. More in WORMSCAN.&
Unreal. I have to admit tho, this guys sense of humor had me busting out more than once. Side note. Remember the movie Serpico (Frank Serpico. NYPD Whistleblower) Now it seems almost like Predictive Programming. 🤷🏼♂️