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DRUGS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FOREIGN
POLICY: THE BAHAMAS
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1987
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NARCOTICS AND
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:05 a.m., in room SD-419, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Ron. John F. Kerry (chairman of the sub-
committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Kerry, Pell, and McConnell.
Also present: Jack A. Blum, special counsel.
Senator KERRY. The hearing will come to order.
Let me take a moment, if I may, to explain why we are having
this hearing and where we intend to be going in the course of these
hearings. I think all of us know that the effort to stem the illicit
flow of drugs into the United States has become an insurmountable
problem.
Law enforcement officials across our country and elsewhere have
become increasingly frustrated over the seeming inability to be
able to stop the flow of drugs or to deal effectively with what is
essentially a war that is being waged against the citizens of this
country.
The availability of drugs has every parent in the United States,
according to every indicator by which we measure people's fears,
deeply concerned that their sons and daughters are going to experi-
ment wIth cocaine, wIth marijuana, with heroin, or even wIth more
sophisticated mixtures of drugs.
I think it is fair to say that the Congress has also experienced a
frustration in trying to deal with this issue, which is clearly one of
the primary concerns of citizens of this country. Last year we
passed the Omnibus Antidrug Enforcement Act in order to try to
increase our efforts to launch a so-called all-out war against narcot-
ics, but drugs are still coming into this Nation in significant if not
ever-increasing amounts.
The purpose of these hearings is to focus on foreign policy and
broader international policy implications of the drug problem, as
well as obviously to ascertain some of the underlying facts which
give us the ability to make judgments about that policy. This sub-
committee intends to look at our relationships with countries that
are important to the drug industry either because they produce
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drugs, are used as a transit point for narcotics trafficking, or have
become a haven for drug-connected money-laundering operations.
Among the issues which we want to address in these hearings is
not only our own policy but the extent to which our Government
ranks the drug problem in the overall scheme of a relationship
with other countries. Do we on any occasion overlook a drug law
enforcement problem that develops in our relationship with a for-
eign government in order to protect perceived national or interna-
tional security or political concerns?
If so, what are the political and national security objectives,
which take precedence over the responsibility to our citizens to
stop the flow of drugs. This subcommittee will also attempt to
evaluate the impact of the drug industry on countries where nar-
cotics have become an integral part of their economies. Only by
doing that can we make judgments about what our relationship
with those countries ought to be.
Are we facing a situation where the economies of some countries
are becoming reliant on revenues generated by narcotics traffick-
ing? Are the actions of drug traffickers increasingly destabilizing
the institutions of those countries which succumb to the temptation
to permit traffickers to operate in them? Is drug money being used
to support political parties, incumbent governments, or even revo-
lutionary movements?
Several unique questions arise in the case of the Bahamas. The
Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that about 40 percent
of the cocaine and much of the marijuana pouring into the United
States comes through the Bahamas. The subcommittee will be seek-
ing to determine how our Government has responded to the drug
problem in the Bahamas over the past years, and we will attempt to
construct a history of the trafficking through the Bahamas and
how in reality we have responded to that problem.
I think, and I say this very clearly, that it is important that this
committee look at the facts.
To understand what the policy ought to be, to understand where
we are making mistakes, and to understand how Government poli-
cies may have been affected, one has to understand what the situa-
tion is at this moment and in the past in that particular country,
and so we must lay a factual foundation.
In so doing, it is my genuine hope that we will be able to im-
prove relations, not diminish them, and to improve cooperation be-
tween our countries so as to minimize this scourge. I hope that will
be the final result of these hearings.
If I could make one final comment, it is not by my choice that a
witness, nor by my ranking colleague's choice that a witness ap-
pears before us hooded. We want these hearings to be open, and we
want this policy to be examined openly.
But the witness is under the Federal Witness Protection Pro-
gram as of very recently. This committee feels a responsibility to
adhere to the standards of that program, which require the dimin-
ished exposure of a witness in order to effectively relocate him.
And so we are adhering to that policy, and that is why the witness
appears hooded today.
It is not to say there are not those in the world who know his
identity. Obviously they do. Has he appeared publicly before? Yes,
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he has. But now he is in the program seeking a new identity and
location, and it would be irresponsible of this committee to in any
way permit people who have never seen him to see him in this con-
text. That is why we are going along with it.
I turn now to my ranking colleague, Senator McConnell.
Senator MCCoNNELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I share your judgment about the necessity to hood the witness.
We are sorry that is necessary but we understand the reason why.
A little over a month ago the Senate struggled with the question
of whether the Government of the Bahamas was fully cooperating
with the United States or taking adequate steps of its own to stop
drug trafficking, production or drug-related money laundering.
My view is shaped by the State Department's International Nar-
cotics Control Strategy Report, which summed up the situation,
stating, "The Bahamas continues to be a major transit country for
cocaine and marijuana shipments to the United States. In fact, in
1986 as coca production and cocaine demand increased, seizures of
cocaine transmitting the Bahamas dropped from the 1985 level of
over 10,000 pounds to under 8,000 pounds. Seizures of marijuana
dropped from 44.5 tons in 1985 to 5.6 tons in 1986."
This dramatic decline in interdiction of narcotics occurred as we
mounted one of the most significant drug enforcement programs in
our history, Operation Bahamas, Antigua, Turks, and Caicos, other-
wise known as OpAd, pioneered the use of the Department of De-
fense helicopter assets in our drug war.
Bahamian strike force personnel are stationed at Homestead Air
Force Base and flown to suspected narcotics sites along with DEA
and Customs officials. We have a radar balloon to track flights, and
according to the State Department Bahamian liaison officers as-
signed to Coast Guard vessels offer, and I quote, "excellent coopera-
tion" in granting permission to board Bahamian vessels.
Clearly the experts have developed a comprehensive program to
fight this war on drugs. The question that comes to mind is, Why is
it not working more successfully? We have dedicated millions of
dollars, tons of equipment, and hundreds of personnel, yet the
problem gets worse. Other committees and task forces have devoted
time to examining the questions relating to enforcement. I think
this committee needs to explore the central issue of whether cor-
ruption and the internal policies of the Bahamian Government un-
dermine and defeat our drug enforcement program.
The State Department assures me that the No.1 issue on our bi-
lateral agenda with the Government of the Bahamas is drug en-
forcement. However, their narcotics report points out, and I quote
again, "Widespread narcotics corruption still exists, as was publicly
revealed during the yearlong commission of inquiry which issued
its report in December 1984. The government has been slow in ef-
fectively addressing recommendations contained in that report and
narcotics-related corruption in general. This corruption threatens
to undermine the cooperation we now enjoy as well as the very
fabric of Bahamian society."
This sentiment was certainly echoed in a recent letter from As-
sistant Secretary Fox to members of this committee. While Mr. Fox
points out that in 1986 laws were passed to increase sentences in
the Bahamas for drug-related offenses, his next paragraph notes
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that of six prosecutions stemming from the Royal Commission
report, none resulted in conviction.
What good does it do to make arrests if there are no convictions?
What really concerns me is that I understand that this is a fairly
routine problem for our Customs and DEA officials. But routine
does not make it right. Nor does it make it acceptable: I hope the
witnesses today will be helpful in explaining to us just how exten-
sive the problem of drug-related corruption may be. Were they
dealing with a few bad apples at the top or do Bahamian senior
officials set the trend for the entire country? Are we talking about
a problem that is firmly imbedded in the economic, social, and po-
litical structure of the Bahamas such that our narcotics enforce-
"ment efforts and goals are ultimately impeded?
I appreciate Mr. Garcia and Mr. Bannister appearing before the
committee today to describe the problem that we face. They share
a unique understanding of the Bahamian players and their objec-
tives. More importantly, I think these gentlemen have the best
sense of just how effective our law enforcement efforts are. I am
also interested to hear the administration's response to this defini-
tion of the problem and I understand we will be schedulmg that for
a future date.
John, I want to commend you for initiating this inquiry. I wish
we had been able to complete it prior to the Senate's consideration
of the resolution disapproving the President's certification, but I
think this is good, solid groundwork for preparing for next year
and I look forward to hearing from the witnesses.
Senator KERRY. Thank you very much, Senator. I appreciate
your comments, and I am glad to be sharing this hearing with you.
Two quick comments, if I may. One, we will be having further
hearings at which policymakers and others who have been involved
in this effort will be testifying. Second, I think that it is important
to note that we are very well aware that there are other countries
with whom there are problems. No one is singling out the Bahamas
alone.
This is not meant to indicate that this is the only international
problem in narcotics that we have, but we have to begin some-
where, and it is clear from the DEA that the most significant flow
of cocaine into this country is through the Bahamas, so we begin
where we begin. But we will be looking elsewhere, and we will be
equally as interested in the relationships in other countries.
Moreover, and I say this as a former prosecutor, nobody is trying
to hide the fact that we have problems in this country. And we do
not diminish those by these hearings. We point the finger at our-
selves as well as elsewhere. But I think what has become clear is,
we need an overall, concerted strategy to deal with this problem if
we are going to do anything about it.
I am going to call on Mr. Garcia to make an opening statement.
Before you do, Mr. Garcia, I would ask you to stand and raise
your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. GARCIA. I do.
Senator KERRY. Thank you.
Would you begin with your opening statement, please?
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STATEMENT OF LUIS G. GARCIA ("KOJAK"), MIAMI, FL
Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, my name is
Luis G.--stands for Gustavo--Garcia. I was born in Cuba in 1932,
came to this country at the age of 4. I was--
Senator KERRY. Would you hold the microphone just a little
closer to you--there you go.
Mr. GARCIA. All right.
Senator KERRY. Thank you.
Mr. GARCIA. Is that all right now?
At the age of 4 my mother brought me to this country. I am now
a naturalized citizen of the United States, living in Miami, FL.
That city has been my home for over 20 years. I have never been
convicted of a drug-related offense although I was heavily involved
in smuggling drugs into the United States for almost 4 years begin-
ning in early 1979. At that time I supervised an operation which
smuggled tons of drugs mainly from Colombia and Jamaica by way
of the Bahamas with complete impunity. That was accomplished by
paying for protection to the Bahamian authorities from the lowest
rank officer to the highest politicians and officers. It is believed
that if it was not for this fact my smuggling activities and those of
many others like me would not have been so successful.
I retired in early 1983 from drug smuggling and contacted the
Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami of my own accord, and
shortly thereafter I was involved in a sting operation which result-
ed in the indictment of two Bahamian politicians and a high-rank-
ing immigration officer from that country. The outcome of that op-
eration was the arrest and conviction of two who were found guilty
and sentenced to prison. The other individual remains a fugitive
and to the best of my knowledge still remains at large in the Baha-
mas. Because of my efforts and cooperation in these matters and
others, I have immunity from criminal charges.
I have testified in the President's Commission on Organized
Crime. I have also testified at the Royal Commission of Inquiry for
the Bahamas Government on hearings which were conducted in
Miami, FL, at the Bahamian consulate.
I am definitely at this moment an outspoken enemy of drugs, the
evil that it brings, the corruption that it brings, even at the risk of
my life, which has been threatened several times, in fact, a few
months back. It is also a fact that from what one reads in the
newspaper, hears on TV and the whole media, and also by my ex-
perience in Florida, Miami in particular, things have not been
changed for the better. On the contrary, it has never been better in
the Bahamas. In my mind and by my experience it is one of the
most expensive governments in the world. I should know. I paid my
share of it.
Thank you.
Senator KERRY. Mr. Garcia, when did you first begin to become
active in drug smuggling in the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. 1979, sir.
Senator KERRY. And how did you first become active?
Mr. GARCIA. By teaming up with a group of people that were in
that particular business, and as a drug smuggler or conducting a
drug operation I visited the Bahamas with them.
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Senator KERRY. Did you meet up with them in the United
States?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And then went to the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. To Bimini.
Senator KERRY. Why did you go to the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. To arrange the location and to arrange an airstrip
in south Bimini for the airplane to land with drugs so it could be
picked up and brought into the States.
Senator KERRY. Was it important to you as a drug smuggler to
have a base of operations in the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. I will say that after my first trip in the Bahamas,
after that first successful operation if I wouldn t have found it as
easy as it is, and still is, I never would have continued.
Senator KERRY. I'm sorry. I didn't understand that. You--
Mr. GARCIA. I never would have continued in doing, you know,
being in the drug business, the smuggling business.
Senator KERRY. Now, would it have been possible for you to oper-
ate in the Bahamas if you had not paid government officials?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir. No.
Senator KERRY. And how did you find that out?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, actually, it is not very hard. Believe it or not,
they, usually the lowest people at the airport or customs or some-
thing, they knew or they had a certain knowledge of what you
came there for, and they approach you.
Senator KERRY. And is that how you first got the OK to open up
the airstrip?
Mr. GARCIA. My first experience, sir, was when a customs inspec-
tor in Bimini just saw a machinegun laying around the boat when
we arrived there and he got very upset about it, and he was going
to call the police and so forth, and I started talking to him, and I
offered him a $100 bill, and he took it, and he says, "Put the ma-
chinegun away, and that is the end of it."
Senator KERRY. Now, how did you start making payoffs specifi-
cally?
Mr. GARCIA. Exactly that way. Then, you know, from that man
on we talked to other people. Everything was arranged at the be-
ginning through an intermediary, a Bahamian civilian.
Senator KERRY. At the time that you were operating there were
there other major smuggling groups also operating out of the Baha-
mas?
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, yes, that airport was as busy as Miami Interna-
tional most of the time, especially at night.
Senator KERRY. And how many other groups would you say there
were?
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, at any given moment there would be anywhere
between 5 and 10 groups in Bimini.
Senator KERRY. And what year was this?
Mr. GARCIA. Somewhere around the summer of 1979.
Senator KERRY. Did this continue through the full 4 years that
you were active in drug smuggling?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, but not exactly in Bimini, throughout all of
the islands.
Senator KERRY. Throughout all the islands?
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Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir
Senator KERRY. And to your knowledge does that continue
today?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, it does. I definitely have knowledge about
it.
Senator KERRY. Why were some of the groups more successful
than others?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, if I may say, a lot of these people that are in-
volved in these activities have a tendency to use the merchandise
that they peddle, and that brings their downfall.
Senator KERRY. Would you explain that a little further?
Mr. GARCIA. In other words, what I am trying to say, sir, is that
they do use drugs themselves. They are not pretty well organized,
and that is a cause for law enforcement, especially in the United
States, to crack down on them. They make mistakes.
Senator KERRY. In 1979, do you recall what the state of drug use
was in the Bahamas itself?
Mr. GARCIA. It wasn't used much. Very few low class of people,
the same as in the United States would be using it. But the prac-
tice of also paying with drugs to Bahamian civilians and officials
then came about a couple of years after that.
Senator KERRY. And how would you describe the situation today?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, like I say, it has never been better, especially
as of Monday night. I do have information that it is still going on
as usual.
Senator KERRY. Do you want to describe to us what happened
Monday night?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, one of my former colleagues came over and
talked to me. Actually, what I believe he was trying to do was
trying to talk me into going back into the business because of my
success ratio. And he just happened to go by the Bahamas a couple
of weeks ago, and people were saying "Things were rough, have the
old man come back."
Senator KERRY. What did he mean by that, "things were rough"?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I used to pay up to a quarter of a million dol-
lars for having the opportunity to bring in the plane, and transship
them to boats, speedboats, and so forth, to bring it to the States.
Senator KERRY. You personally paid up to a quarter of a million
dollars to get permission to operate there?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And can you describe to us what the various
costs were, where the money went?
Mr. GARCIA. Usually let's say, say in an aircraft, a DC-3, that
would bring marijuana, somewhere around 5,000, 6000 pounds, up
to 8,000 pounds. It all depends on the configuration of the aircraft.
It would cost around $130,000 in those days. I understand the cost
has gone up now. But it would cost about $130,000, $150,000, and a
major part of it would go to the police officials, immigration offi-
cials, and customs. The rest of it to civilians that would help in the
operation, unloaders and loaders and so forth.
Senator KERRY. Now, did you personally pay the money to each
of these people, or did you give it to a go-between who then paid
them off?
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Mr. GARCIA. At the beginning, the first three or four times we
did use a go-between.
Senator KERRY. But then afterward you would pay it personally?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, afterward I had to start paying myself because
I found out the guy in between used to pocket some of the money
himself.
Senator KERRY. Can you describe the various officials to whom
you paid money in order to clear the way for a shipment?
Mr. GARCIA. I would say from a police constable up to the chief
of the Bahamian task force, which was on my payroll. That came
out.
Senator KERRY. This is the Bahamian drug task force?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. You paid him?
Mr. GARCIA. I had him on my payroll for $10,000 a month.
Senator KERRY. And you personally paid $10,000 a month to
him?
Mr. GARCIA. I paid him--I did meet with him a couple of times,
but he was in the Bahamas, I was in Miami, and I had a former
policeman who used to work for me from the beginning who quit
the force because of the money he was making in the drug business
relay the money to him.
Senator KERRY. Did you personally ever pay any politicians?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. I did pay a former chairman of the PLP,
Mr. Andrew Mayner, $50,000 in Miami.
Senator KERRY. And what was that payment for?
Mr. GARCIA. The payment was like the first installment of
$150,000 to take me off what they call the stop list or the restricted
list, and afterward that was supposedly the beginning of a good re-
lationship where I will operate even more freely than what I was
doing at the time.
Senator KERRY. What year was this?
Mr. GARCIA. I believe it was in 1981.
Senator KERRY. You weren't taken off the stop list, though, were
you?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir.
Senator KERRY. Now, what is the most money that you ever paid
for one shipment of drugs?
Mr. GARCIA. I paid $250,000 to a Bahamian by the name of
Abner Pynder. A quarter of a million dollars for bringing in in No-
vember 1982 almost 400 kilos of cocaine.
Senator KERRY. And what year was that?
Mr. GARCIA. November 1982, sir.
Senator KERRY. Now, you say you have specific knowledge today
that this same practice is continuing right now.
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And that knowledge is based upon your contacts
within the drug smuggling business?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And you have talked with these people recently?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, as of Monday night.
Senator KERRY. What is the attitude of local residents of the Ba-
hamian islands toward the drug smugglers?
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Mr. GARCIA. Well, I can only speak to--in relation to when I was
there, but I believe it almost stays the same. It is that, you know, it
is a matter of making money. As long as the money stays there
and the drugs keep going to the United States, there is no problem
with it.
Senator KERRY. Are there some who are very upset about it?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir, I never found anybody upset about taking
money.
Senator KERRY. Do you Know why Cabinet Minister Roker re-
signed from the PLP? I do not want to know why you think, but do
you know why Cabinet Minister Roker resigned?
Mr. GARCIA. I do know that he did not resign, sir. He put it that
he retired, which is a form of resigning, I guess.
Senator KERRY. Do you know why?
Mr. GARCIA. He is definitely against drugs and, you know, what
is going on.
Senator KERRY. Did you ever have a bribe that you paid returned
to you?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir.
Senator KERRY. What were the circumstances under which you
were approached to begin making payments to higher level Baha-
mian officials?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I guess it was through my success as a drug
smuggler. Word got around that, you know, Kojak will pay his
dues, he will not back out on his word, and so forth, and like I say,
I started with a constable and a customs officer, and I guess my
success followed me, and eventually I got up to the head of the Ba-
hamian task force.
Senator KERRY. Just for the record, you are referred to as
"Kojak" in the island. Is that correct?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. Senator
KERRY. I don't have to ask you why, do I?
Mr. GARCIA. No. No.
Senator KERRY. I am going to turn--I have more questions, but I
am going to turn to my colleague, Senator McConnell, for a round
at this point.
Senator McCONNELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Did every single transaction require a separate payment, or did
your payments give you some kind of blanket protection?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, every single trip actually was arranged, espe-
cially at the beginning, way ahead of time, and I will pay a little
bit before the trip, and then afterward, after the trip was done I
will pay it.
Senator McCONNELL. So, each separate transaction then required
a separate arrangement?
Mr. GARCIA. Right, and specific rates, because it all depends on,
you know, what size of an airplane you are bringing in, and how
many people you use, and so forth.
Senator McCONNELL. How many different folks would you have
to bribe to complete a transaction?
Mr. GARCIA. It all depends on the size of the law enforcement in
that particular island. Now, in Bimini, for instance, there are quite
a few customs people so everyone of them has to get paid. What
you usually do is, you pay one person and then he distributes the
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money among themselves. The same goes for the police depart-
ment. And in our example, when I was there there was only two
policemen and a sergeant, and one immigration official and one
customs official, so it would probably be a little less.
Senator McCONNELL. So, you were only paying off a couple of
people per transaction?
Mr. GARCIA. No, no, I am only talking about the officials. Now, of
course, one of the reasons that I was so successful was that I used
mostly natives, people to work the loads instead of bringing them
in from the outside, and that created for a very good relationship,
good business relationship.
Senator KERRY. Senator, let me interrupt you for just one second.
Mr. Bannister needs to be excused just for a moment, and then he
is going to be back, so why do you not just escort him out and back
while we continue this testimony, then, just bring him back in?
Senator McCONNELL. How much did the payoffs encroach upon
your profits? In other words, what percentage of the money that
you were making out of these transactions was dedicated to paying
off of the Bahamian officials?
Mr. GARCIA. I worked that out once and it came to about, maybe
included in the total cost of about 15 percent of it.
Senator McCONNELL. So, it cost you about 15 percent of your
profits to payoff the various officials?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, I would say so.
Senator McCONNELL. Did the size of the shipment have anything
to do with--
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, yes, definitely.
Senator McCONNELL. So, the bigger the haul, the more it cost
you to clear it through the process?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes.
Senator McCONNELL. How much contact did you have with your
competition, others doing similar things there?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I hate to say this, but at one time I was called
the "Bahamian Connection." If anybody had any problem and
wanted to operate in the Bahamas, they would contact me, and I
would try to help them and see them through. I opened up quite a
few places for different people to operate as a favor.
Senator McCONNELL. As a favor, or did you charge them for this
servIce?
Mr. GARCIA. No, most of the time I did it as a favor. Actually,
what I was doing was trying to make sure that my Bahamian
people, my Bahamian friends who were involved with me in these
particular operations would make extra money and they do not
have to rely on me completely.
Senator McCONNELL. So, your motivation was to keep the offi-
cials happy?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, keep everybody happy.
Senator McCONNELL. And the demand for the drugs was so great
you were not really concerned about competition? There was
plenty of business out there for everyone?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir, it does not matter.
Senator MCCONNELL. You have mentioned your bribe to one poli-
tician. How may different politicians, elected officials, shall I say,
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in the Bahamian Government did you have to bribe over the course
of your involvement there?
Mr. GARCIA. Elected officials? I don't think, not directly anybody
in particular. I don't think so. I don't think-what they call the
commissioners in the outer islands are not elected. I think they are
appointed by the government. Those I did pay, quite a few of them.
In fact, I used to take them fishing also in my boats, and partying
and so forth.
Senator McCONNELL. How dependent is the Bahamian economy
on the drug trafficking?
Mr. GARCIA. In fact, I was told by even members of the party
who are in power right now in Ray Harbor, for instance, that I was
an industry by itself. That is the way they considered me.
Senator McCONNELL. And did you see that increase dramatically
in the 4 years that you were involved there?
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, yes.
Senator McCONNELL. So, it was not much of a factor when you
started, but it was an integral part of the economy when you
ceased your activities?
Mr. GARCIA. I would say, sir, if I may interrupt you, that I came
just at the beginning, that this thing was starting to really get off
the ground.
Senator McCONNELL. What in your judgment would happen to
the Bahamian economy if we were able to stop this just like that?
Mr. GARCIA. I think they are going to have a hard time trying to
pay $1.50 or $2 for a Coca-Cola down there.
Senator McCONNELL. So, the country now is very dependent
upon this illicit business?
Mr. GARCIA. Especially the outer islands, sir. Yes, sir.
Senator McCONNELL. Then how do we stop it? If the country is
that dependent upon this business for its newly acquired standard
of living, what kind of incentives could we give to the government
to reduce in effect its standard of living?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I will say, and if I may put my opinion for-
ward, it is that I do believe that the tourist business, the gambling
business, the banking business in the Bahamas generates enough
money to filter down to the people. No question in my mind about
it. But I do believe that before that happens something has to stop
at the top.
That means the corruption, the stealing, the knowledge that I
have of supposedly a bridge that was owned by the public that was
sold privately, and things of that matter. If any elected official
makes $72,000 a year and he builds himself all of a sudden a $2
million home and rides around in a Rolls Royce in Nassau, which
is very hard to drive a Rolls Royce in Nassau, that tells you some-
thing.
Senator McCONNELL. In your judgment, will anything else other
than new officials who are less corruptible down there stop the
drug trafficking? For example, would you have been deterred from
doing business there if you thought there was a reasonable chance
you were going to be caught, convicted?
Mr. GARCIA. Definitely, if the odds would not have been in my
favor or in anybody's favor, like it is right now, I am pretty sure
that I wouldn't keep on attempting it.
[page 12]
12
Senator McCONNELL. Is there anything this country can do to
bring about the kind of changes that you suggest are necessary to
cut off the flow through the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I really do believe, sir, that right now we are
doing just as good as we can do with what we have got. And lately
I understand that we have had a little cooperation from the Baha-
mian officials, for what I know even though the helicopter was
trying to be shot down, about 4 weeks ago, I understand, and still
you have that problem, and it is a free country, it is a democracy,
and I really don't know. I'm not a politician. I never tried to be
one. But something could be done. I’m pretty sure you people on
the Hill will find out.
Senator McCONNELL. Yes, but your judgment is, I gather, that--
and this is my final question on this round, Mr. Chairman. I gather
your judgment is that the only thing that would have deterred you
would have been the inability to bribe officials and the possibility,
the real possibility of being caught and convicted over there. Is
that correct?
Mr. GARCIA. Definitely that would have--you know, that would
have stopped me from continuing my business enterprise.
Senator McCONNELL. Put another way, our own interdiction ef-
forts in this country would not have been a particular deterrent to
you; right?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir. No, sir, because let's say bringing it in from
Colombia into Bimini, which we are talking about--
Senator McCONNELL. It is pretty easy to do; is it not?
Mr. GARCIA [continuing]. Which we are talking about 1,000 miles,
that was a very easy part of it. I mean, that was--you've got the
stuff right 50 miles away from you, and you know, then the odds
change completely. That type of a risk can be taken. And it is
being taken right now.
Senator McCONNELL. In your judgment then no matter how suc-
cessfully we beef up our interdiction efforts, that is not going to do
anything other than to catch a few? Is that your view, or--
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, that is my view. I don't think we do have
the manpower, even though we have the will to do it, and I believe
the officials in this country are trying their best, but the sheer
amount of boatts trafficking, tourists and fishermen, you know,
honest people, in the Florida area is tremendous. So, let’s say from
25 miles south of Miami on any given weekend you can find hun-
dreds and thousands of boats riding the waves of Biscyane Bay.
Anyone of them could have drugs in there. It is almost impossible
to tell which is which.
Senator McCONNELL. So, you are going to have to have some real
cooperation from the countries involved, either the countries of
origin or the countries of transition?
Mr. GARCIA. Definitely. I can say right now from my contacts
that I still have on the other side, in fact, on both sides, that that
particular situation stops in the Bahamas. It would create a lot of
problems for a lot of people, definitely. I would say that right now
more than half of them would have to stop or they would be caught
if they continued doing it because the logistics are not there. If you
take the logistics away it becomes a very difficult job, very difficult.
Senator McCONNELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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13
Senator KERRY. Mr. Garcia, let me come back, if I can for a
minute, to a question I asked earlier about a bribe that you paid
being returned. Was there an occasion when you paid a magistrate
to get ahold of an airplane?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, but that was not a bribe, so I believe I did
answer you correctly.
Senator KERRY. You were paying him for the airplane?
Mr. GARCIA. Not him. I did not pay him.
Senator KERRY. Can you tell us what happened?
Mr. GARCIA. I paid the customs department, which had confiscat-
ed the airplane, and of course they had it up for sale. Now, of
course, my lawyer, who was Bahamian at the time, he did arrange
things to make sure that my bid was the first one to be considered.
Senator KERRY. And you were bidding on a drug airplane that
had been confiscated?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. In fact, the pilot who was flying that par-
ticular airplane who got arrested as the first, well, the first pilot
that I went down to Colombia on my own--on my own enterprise,
my own business. It was him.
Senator KERRY. So, you fully expected because you had paid the
money to get the airplane?
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, yes. In fact, I definitely had the airplane. I had
pulled him out of jail on the $30,000 bail and I flew with him to
Nassau to pick up the airplane.
Senator KERRY. But you did not get the airplane?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir, I did not get the airplane.
Senator KERRY. What happened?
Mr. GARCIA. At the last minute there was a letter from the U.S.
Ambassador telling customs, the magistrate, actually, to consider
the fact that airplane belonged to some pharmaceutical company in
Atlanta, and to please do everything in their power to have that
airplane returned to the United States.
Senator KERRY. And the airplane was returned?
Mr. GARCIA. As far as I know. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. Now, coming back to the question Senator Mc-
Connell was asking about, interdiction, is interdiction a good law
enforcement--I mean, you are sitting there. You make plans to run
in. You have got airplanes. You know the islands. You know how
to get the drugs in and out. If you are sitting there today and you
know that we have got these interdiction forces there--
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY [continuing]. Given the current level of the force,
and the current efforts, would you still decide to go ahead and run
drugs in?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, as long as I have the Bahamians, as an air-
craft carrier, I would.
Senator KERRY. Why is that?
Mr. GARCIA. First of all, you have protection. You have a place
where you are only 50 miles away and no matter what happens if
somebody is chasing you up there 30 miles out in the ocean and
you see them coming, you can turn around and head back into the
islands, and of course you are paying for protection. They are going
to protect you.
[page 14]
14
Senator KERRY. And when you say "protect you," that means
that if you get arrested, what happens to you?
Mr. GARCIA. Not in the Bahamas sir, not if you pay, you won't
get arrested. I mean, they just turn their backs or whatever.
Senator KERRY. But some people do get arrested; right?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. What happens to the people who get arrested?
Mr. GARCIA. In my times you just pay bail and bail out and
leave.
Senator KERRY. You do not go to jail?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir.
Senator KERRY. You do not get prosecuted?
Mr. GARCIA. No.
Senator KERRY. And is that understood, is that known before you
enter into these--
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. Now, for instance, let me tell you in 1982
by mistake, by an error five of my people got arrested, like I said,
by--completely by mistake, and they all left jail, and nobody was
sentenced. They were all acquitted. It did cost me $250,000 there.
Senator KERRY .It cost you $250,000?
Mr. GARCIA. In fact, $272,000 to be exact.
Senator KERRY. Who did you pay that to?
Mr. GARCIA. A lawyer, a Bahamian lawyer.
Senator KERRY. Has the new U.S. equipment and radar helped at
all. We hear a lot about it, we have got this big new radar and ev-
erything. Does that make a difference?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. It has made a difference, but I still hear
from my old pilot friends that sometimes they can go around it.
Senator KERRY. When you were in the business, how did you
handle your cash?
Mr. GARCIA. Just keep it in a suitcase. Family members I would
give it to to hold it for me.
Senator KERRY. Well, was there a point where you had an enor-
mous collection of cash in your house?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. Do you want to describe that?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, there were many times that we were counting
money. I wouldn't bother with the $5 or $1 bills. We will give it to
somebody to go out and get beer or something as a gift. Money will
be in my living room, which is about 24 by 24 or something like
that. In a good part of it will be up to you ankles. The money will
be up to your ankles when you step on it.
Senator KERRY. In this living room?
Mr. GARCIA. Yeah.
Senator KERRY. And what would you do with the money?
Mr. GARCIA. Pay people off, you know, pay everybody off and
then buy things, spend it.
Senator KERRY. What about the money you kept for yourself?
What did you do with that? You obviously were not just in the
business of giving it away.
Mr. GARCIA. Maybe that is the reason why I was in the business
4 continuous years and nothing ever happens to me. I did--I didn't
retire with as much money as I would have liked to.
Senator KERRY. Did you ship some suitcases to certain Places?
[page 15]
15
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. Panama. Panama is a very good place to
launder money.
Senator KERRY. Panama?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And you would just take these suitcases and ship
them? How would you get them down there?
Mr. GARCIA. I paid, I believe it was 10 percent, 10 percent of
whatever I was shipping I was paying to a fellow who, by the way,
is in jail right now, who would make the arrangements.
Senator KERRY. Where was this fellow?
Mr. GARCIA. In Miami. He wouldn't only take my money. He
would take money for any other dopers. I believe at one time when
he was arrested he had like $5 million in a Lear jet ready to be
flown back to Panama.
Senator KERRY. And he was taking it down to Panama?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. I did take some money myself to Panama
one time.
Senator KERRY. You took your--I am sorry, you--
Mr. GARCIA. I did take some money myself to Panama.
Senator KERRY. Was Panama the principal place where you de-
posited or laundered money?
Mr. GARCIA. The Bahamas also.
Senator KERRY. Now, have you ever talked to Gorman Bannister
before--
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY [continuing]. Meeting here today?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. Can you describe how you have known Mr. Ban-
nister, Gorman Bannister?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I met Mr. Bannister about a month ago,
weeks ago, something like that, yes, first week of April in Miami. I
didn't know the gentleman personally but I did know his father,
who I did business with.
Senator KERRY. And who is his father?
Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Everett Bannister.
Senator KERRY. OK. Where did he live?
Mr. GARCIA. As far as I know, in the Bahamas right now.
Senator KERRY. And what dealings did you have with Mr. Ban-
nister?
Mr. GARCIA. I gave Mr. Bannister $20,000 that was a 10-percent
downpayment of a $200,000 deal. That included taking me off the
stop list or restricted list, and also to make things much easier for
me to operate, the way he put it, instead of getting protection from
halfway, let's get protection from the top.
Senator KERRY. What were the circumstances of your meeting
Mr. Gorman Bannister, who is here?
Mr. GARCIA. I guess that the reason for it was, not that I guess, I
am positive, a generous friend of mine told me that Mr. Bannister
was coming over to talk to him, and you know, I told him I was
interested in meeting him, and he wanted me to meet him also, be-
cause I guess it makes good copy, the son of a businessman in the
Bahamas who could fix things in the next doper, and we got to
know each other, and I think I am instrumental in having Mr .
Bannister sitting where he is right now.
[page 16]
16
Senator KERRY. When Mr. Bannister first came to you did you
question his credibility?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, when I first met him, of course, you have to be
a little reluctant until you know who he is and what is he doing,
and I would guess I would do the same thing with anybody that I
meet for the first time.
Senator KERRY. Did you do anything special to try to test his
credibility to tell whether he was coming straight to you?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, I did. Without his knowledge, I guess I did.
Senator KERRY. What did you do?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, I would like be asking certain questions that I
spoke to his father about, why did his father come to me, and he
did come up with the right answers, and in fact one time without
being my intention we drive up where I used to live in Miami, and
there was three buildings almost equally exactly alike, and he
picked out the right one where I used to live because he dropped
his father there one time.
Senator KERRY. Now, when his father had been dropped there, is
that when you had paid his father money?
Mr. GARCIA. No, it was a former son-in-law of mine who was
paying. I was not happened to be at home at that moment, but my
son-in-law was.
Senator KERRY. Do you know whether or not Cuba has been
active in supporting drug smugglers?
Mr. GARCIA. I think so from the rumors that I hear. It is all over
Miami. Yes, sir, it is very active right now.
Senator KERRY. But you say by rumors.
Mr. GARCIA. Well, you hear things on the street, you know,
people using Cuba as a transshipment point. I would say using
Cuba the same as the Bahamas, not as openly, of course.
Senator KERRY. Did you ever use Cuba?
Mr. GARCIA. No, sir, I was in Cuba in 1979, and I was offered
that if I wanted I could--
Senator KERRY. You were offered to use Cuba?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. Personally?
Mr. GARCIA. Personally.
Senator KERRY. Have you talked with people that you know per-
sonally that have used Cuba?
Mr. GARCIA. At the beginning of 1979, 1980, I did speak to a
couple of people that had used Cuba as their refueling point,
having a little protection from the weather, you know, while they
are coming in from Colombia.
Senator KERRY. And you say this is on the street, so to speak, in
Miami?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, the rumors are there, definitely.
Senator KERRY. I think it is something we obviously will want to
explore and see if we can get a better handle on it as we go along
here.
Which islands did you operate from in the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, just about everyone that there was a strip in it
or, you know, an airport.
Senator KERRY. Why did you move from one island to another?
[page 17]
17
Mr. GARCIA. Well, let's say the competition will come in and
start operating on one island, and they will do certain things
wrong, like a plane coming in and crash landing, or people getting
drunk out in the street, or using their own product, and the place
will get hot. Now, I was not just about to go ahead and pull an Al
Capone or anything like that and shooting people, so the best way
is to move away, and being that I had almost access similar to
every island in the Bahamas because I as very well known and I
could operate just about any place.
Senator KERRY. Did you know a smuggler named George Mora-
lis?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, Mr. Moralis made his first trip of grass,
marijuana with a plane that he rented from me.
Senator KERRY. And do you know why he got caught?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, it was a matter of time whether Mr. Moralis
was going to get caught by our own law enforcement or he was
going to get killed by somebody, but I do know that he made quite
a few mistakes, and even though I know the man, and I don't have
any animosity toward him--I should, but I don't--I think he made
too many mistakes. I don't think he was a real professional.
Senator KERRY. Mr. Garcia, let me ask you, you talk about some
of these folks playing pretty rough. It is a known fact within the
drug world and the law enforcement community that indeed it is a
world in which people get killed, and many have.
Here you are testifying openly. You have testified in court
before, have you not?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. You don't worry about your own safety?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, I would be lying if I said that I don’t. But I
try
not to think about it. I have been threatened, like I say before in
my statement several times.
Senator KERRY. Senator McConnell.
Senator McCONNELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A couple of
more questions.
If we were to shut the Bahamas down, in your judgment where
would the smugglers go?
Mr. GARCIA. I think if I were a regular smuggler, if I were a
smuggler now, first of all, I will stop, to begin with. I wouldn't go
any place else. I would stop doing it right then and there, pick up
my marbles and leave. But knowing these people and how greedy
they can be, and how stupid some of them can be, most of them, I
would go to Mexico.
Senator McCONNELL. Mexico then would be more inviting than
Cuba?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, are we talking about a different type of smug-
glers? See I am relating to the Cuban smugglers that I know, and
one of the reasons they are in Miami is because they can't take
communism. So, like the guy that I used to work for at the begin-
ning when I started in it, the offer to operate out of Cuba was
made to me to relate it to him because I was his righthand man,
and he says, no way, I will never deal with Communists, not even
to smuggle drugs. But I would say some Americans--
Senator McCONNELL. Anti-Communist smugglers do not want to
deal with Cuba then; right?
[page 18]
18
Mr. GARCIA. Cubans, I will say.
Senator McCONNELL. So, your feeling is that Mexico would be a
place where smugglers could operate?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. They do now. They do now.
Senator McCONNELL. For the same kinds of reasons that smug-
glers can operate in the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. Correct. For protection. For--
Senator McCONNELL. Is that happening now?
Mr. GARCIA [continuing]. The way--yes, sure.
Senator McCONNELL. You mentioned Panama. You mentioned
Cuba. We have talked about the Bahamas, and you have mentioned
Mexico. Are there other countries in that area--
Mr. GARCIA. The Dominican Republic is coming around pretty
good now.
Senator McCoNNELL. So, you could also operate there with rela-
tive impunity for a price?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator McCONNELL. Are there other countries?
Mr. GARCIA. Jamaica. Jamaica. You can operate in Jamaica.
There is no problem, except that you have the island of Cuba be-
tween and you have to go around it, so you know, it's almost the
same distance if you are coming in from the north coast of Colom-
bia.
Senator McCONNELL. So, since you do not put much faith in our
ability to deal with this problem very significantly from an inter-
diction point of view, to have any real impact on the matter, we
are going to have to have some kind of multilateral coooerative
agreement with a variety of different countries to have any impact
on this problem. Is that correct?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir, but not only in that particular area. I think
the war against drugs has got several fronts, and there is no ques-
tion about it, that is one of the most important ones, but that is not
the only one. You do need interdiction. You have to deal with these
countries that, you know, allow their officials to be bribed and so
forth. You have to deal with the economics of it, and I think it is
very important that it finally starts happening in here. You have
to deal with educating the American people and the young people
to say no to drugs.
Senator McCONNELL. That is what I was going to ask you. That
is the one thing we have not talked about. How significant an
impact on this whole problem could we have in this country with
our educational efforts, simply trying to encourage people to not
use this product, to do something on the demand end of it?
Mr. GARCIA. That's right, sir.
Senator McCONNELL. Is that a good place to be spending a lot of
our resources in this country?
Mr. GARCIA. I would say yes.
Senator McCoNNELL. Is that more productive than--
Mr. GARCIA. I would say yes, it is--education is one of the major
fronts in this war .
Senator McCONNELL. If you were slicing up the antidrug dollars,
would you put more into education than you would into interdic-
tion, for example?
[page 19]
19
Mr. GARCIA. No, I think you've got to have both of them. You
have got to have both of them. But I would say that the effort on
education is not only up to the Federal Government, I think it is
up to the communities themselves. But you do have to have inter-
diction, and you do have to deal with this country's--now, I don't
know if everybody is aware of what is happening in Miami now
with our city of Miami Police Department, which almost the entire
night shift has been found or is going to be found to be corrupt in
all kind of crimes. The only reason for that is because of the drug
problems that we have.
I will not say that there will never be a crooked cop or somebody
that goes out and robs a bank even though he is a policeman. We
are always going to have that. But the main reason that there is
such a huge amount of corruption not only in the police depart-
ment but in our own society in Miami is because of, you know,
where we are located geographical, in front of the Bahamas. The
Bahamas is there. Drugs come through the Bahamas on a--like I
say, it is just as busy as Miami International Airport, and then it
comes into Miami.
Senator McCONNELL. Finally, Mr. Garcia, given how profitable
this business is; why did you get out?
Mr. GARCIA. Many people have asked me that question, and I
have tried to answer it myself. First of all, I saw certain things. A
13-year-old boy that I have, my only son, I do have other daughters,
but he is the only male, and I just didn't like it. I didn't like the
way he was taking the scene and, you know, I didn't like to be
dealing with the same people constantly, talkng the same lan-
guage, not being able to read a book because if you read a book,
what are you doing, Kojak? You are not thinking about drugs any-
more? And people using drugs. I was a combination of many
things.
I don't know. I am not going to be a hypocrite and say that I
found God. I think I found God when I was born. Or anything like
that. It is just that I got disgusted with the whole thing, and I was
pretty much aware that what may happen to--and what was hap-
pening to my own family.
Just 2 months ago I had a very bad personal experience. I lost a
cousin, a girl, 32 years of age, stabbed to death in Miami, 16 times,
by another drugger that was using the drugs, crack, by the way,
both of them, and he just took a knife and stabbed her. A year ago
I lost a son-in-law in New York City by an overdose, 32-31 years
of age.
Right now one of my grandchildren, my first grandchild, who is
18, we are having a lot of problems with him. So, I am talking
about experience, personal experience. I saw all that coming, and I
figured before it got any worse, you know, and not only that I get
out of it, I think I have done just about anything anybody can do to
be here, for instance, to try to fight this evil. Not only in the
States, I have done it in Europe. Anybody, anywhere where I have
been asked to help, I have done it, even at my own expense.
Senator McCONNELL. Thank you, Mr. Garcia.
Senator KERRY. Mr. Garcia, can you put a value on the drugs
that you brought through the Bahamas in the years you were traf-
ficking?
[page 20]
20
Mr. GARCIA. Oh, if I do, I have done that before, and I have said
that before, and I think I have just taken a guess. I don't know. It
could have been--it all depends on the value, the retail end of it or
the wholesale end of it, because that is the business, and supposed-
ly it is conducted as a business. It goes into the millions of dollars.
If we are going to the retail end of it, I would say over $10 million.
Who knows?
I mean, oh, my God, even more than that at the time, 1982, that
I--by way of the Bahamas I transported exactly 377 ki's of cocaine,
which was almost $100 million in those days.
Senator KERRY. $100 million in 1982 alone?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. And could you put a value on the numbers, the
amount of money you spent buying protection in the Bahamas?
Mr. GARCIA. Like I say, anywhere between 15 and 20 percent.
Senator KERRY. So again, millions of dollars?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir .
Senator KERRY. From our perspective, and I know you are not a
policy expert, but sitting there as a person who knows the thinking
of traffickers, and knows the way trafficking is planned, are there
ways that we can leverage policy, are there things that we can do
that will make a difference in any of these countries?
Mr. GARCIA. Well, you said it correctly, sir, when you say I am
not a policy expert, but I would say that if we change the rules of
the games a little bit, if we change the players a little bit, maybe
the new players will see a little better our own way, let's say my
personal way this time, and at least be more discrete. I don't think
we are ever going to stop, you know, the drug business completely.
I mean, that is like trying to stop people from having a scotch. I
think we did try it in this country and it didn't work.
But you know, let's have a little bit more professionalism into it.
And you know, whoever gets caught, no matter where he gets
caught, let's pay the rice. I mean, if you want play, you better be
ready to pay, and not only in this country , which happens, thank
God, but in any other country, instead of having a guy bail out
and, you know, just take off or--
Senator KERRY. Is one of the significant reasons the Bahamas is
such an important transit point the fact that people can pick it be-
cause it is easy. They know they won't pay? Is that what you are
saying?
Mr. GARCIA. That's right, sir. Correct.
Senator KERRY. And you know that that is in fact true today?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir.
Senator KERRY. As we sit here?
Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. In fact, one of my former pilots, I think he
got--he got--like I say, sometimes things, you know, get out of
focus a little bit. People make mistakes. What I am saying is, hon-
estly what I am trying to say is, somebody is supposed to pay some-
body and they didn't pay it, so that is how the mistake comes
about.
This former pilot of mine was sentenced to 2 years, and I believe
he was bringing in a huge amount of cocaine, like 600 ki's or some-
thing, and he got nabbed or he got caught in the Bahamas, and
[pages 21-40 coming soon]
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