by Frank Perry
California’s law enforcement budget goes to enforcing the federal drug laws. It’s probably a lot higher when other factors are added in.
“José was expecting the federal courts to challenge the state law when it passed and was actively working with our delegates in Washington to change federal laws to make this a state issue.
“About two years ago, José was leaving to fly from San Francisco to Washington after a legal convention in the city, but never got on the plane.”
He stopped for a moment and she looked at him, fearful of the answer to her next question. “What happened, Hunt? What happened to José?”
He looked down. “Nobody knows. He just disappeared. Laurie, it’s partially why I’m here.”
“I don’t understand. You’re not a lawyer.”
“Yeah. You’re right, but Claire said they needed someone in Washington to keep the California delegates in line. But, after I got here, one of the delegates, Senator Jenson, decided to make this a federal initiative.”
“That seems like a good thing.”
“Maybe not. It takes the wind out of the California initiative for now, but it might roll around the conference rooms in DC for decades without ever getting adopted. Meanwhile, nothing changes in California.”
“So, are you supposed to kill the federal bill?”
“No. Certainly not. If it passes in usable form, it could solve the state’s financial problems, but more than likely, it will only put more burden on the states.
“José expected this to end up in the Supreme Court and was actually setting the stage for the Feds to challenge the state bill as soon as it arrived.”
“He wanted the Fed to challenge the state law in court?”
“I think so. I’m no lawyer, but I think that was his strategy. He’s a brilliant lawyer. My sister’s a lawyer, too, and has taken over José’s work. They used to work in the same department.”
She smiled down at their hands then looked up. “You know, this all sounds pretty complex. Why are you involved in a legal showdown?”
“Claire was scared when José disappeared. She took over the legal work but couldn’t risk being the advocate in Washington. She’s got two kids and we all think José is dead.”
“But, still, why you?”
“I sort of volunteered and talked her into it. She needed the Governor’s approval to hire me, and I pressed my case in Sacramento.”
“I don’t get it, why would you want to get involved?”
“Laurie. The State is being overrun by drug people. They probably control some government people and are spreading death across the state.”
“You make it sound like a war.”
“Maybe. The war is being fought and lost at the federal level. We get the aftermath on the streets. I’m just trying to win the peace, eliminating the illegal trade.”
“So, by doing your job, you’re threatening the drug smugglers in California?”
“It might be even bigger than that. If we can get it done at the federal level, done right, we can solve it for the whole country. But assuming this is not going to happen, the other border states are watching California closely and might do the same in their states. The big key will be if the Supreme Court says it’s constitutional for California to legalize drugs.”
“So, why do you need to call her back and not talk in front of me?”
“She’s scared again. They just found Jose’s Mercedes dumped at sea off the California coast.”
She gripped his hand hard. “What does it mean, Hunt?”
“We don’t know yet, but it’s reopened the investigation that he was killed by the mob. I guess there was always a small hope that he just disappeared on his own.”
She looked at him with worried eyes. “Hunt, I don’t want you hurt.”
“I’m pretty good at taking care of myself...now, let’s talk about moving to the next step.”
Claire
Claire Rivera had lived with the nightmare that José was murdered in cold blood, and she would never see him again. Over time, she supplanted the terror of it and buried herself in his work to overcome the grief. It would be four more years before the courts would declare him dead, so she continued to raise their children on her salary alone without the insurance benefits they had arranged to protect each other.
When divers reported discovering his car, it rekindled her feelings and enraged her. She wasn’t able to be mad in the beginning. Her grief overwhelmed all other feelings. She was also fighting the whispered rumor that he had simply disappeared because of some fictitious dispute between the two of them, or an affair. It was all false, but it kept her mind focused elsewhere. Now, the realities were dead center again, confirming her worst fears. She could have accepted him suddenly reappearing after a hiatus in Mexico, but she knew in her heart that it would never happen. Now, the rest of the world would also believe it. The car was a solid clue that José had been killed by people with immense means. They had disposed of his car twenty-five miles at sea. She needed no other proof that it was mob related. Someone, she suspected who, had gone to enormous steps to have Jose’s disappearance remain a mystery.
Claire and Hunter grew up in Ventura County, north of Malibu along the coast. They both went to public schools and lived a carefree life without many demands. She was a top student and was admitted to UCLA studying sociology. She focused on academics and decided to continue in the School of Law where she met a fellow law student that she would eventually marry after graduation. José Rivera was a first generation Mexican-American who hoped to work on equal rights measures after graduation. His determination to improve the well-being of Mexicans fit sympathetically with Claire’s social agenda. They were deeply in love throughout their brief married years. After graduation, José took a position with the State’s Attorney office in Sacramento, and Claire followed a year later. Their jobs migrated slightly away from the equal rights platform to be focused on the drug problems in urban areas. Part of the solution required changing American drug policy. They both felt passionately about their job responsibilities.
The FBI office in San Francisco took over the case, following the discovery of Jose’s car. A state official had disappeared two years earlier after leading a campaign that would destroy illegal drug distribution. Mob businesses were threatened by Rivera’s actions. Drug smugglers were suspected of killing José, and the largest distributor in the western states operated in the Bay Area.
Luciano Peña
Luciano Peña’s family had been commercial fishermen operating from Fisherman’s Wharf for four generations. His great grandfather journeyed up the coast from Baja California first to San Diego, then on to Monterey, finally settling in San Francisco in 1915 when the Panama-Pacific International Exposition began, celebrating the opening of the great canal. At that time, the Bay offered immense fishing profits for anyone willing to brave the rough Pacific outside the “Golden Gate”. Initially, he operated a single “Monterey Clipper” boat, which was a common type in the bays from Monterey up into the Sacramento Delta. This boat type was introduced to the area after the gold rush of 1848, based on an ancient Italian canoe-shaped sailboat design, capable of operating in rough sea conditions, yet shallow drafted and able to operate from small piers common around the bays. Some original boats continue in service today, but the Peña family had grown over generations to own a fleet of ocean-going factory ships, capable of pulling fifteen-mile-long nets. They all had fish processing and freezing plants aboard, able to stay at sea for months and fish north to the Bering Sea down to South America.
Peña operated three ships all over one hundred fifty feet long. At least one was rumored to have double bottoms in its freezer holds capable of storing tons of cocaine and other illicit drugs under each tank. Search warrants had been ineffective locating the compartments in the past. It was never learned how the drugs were loaded under tons of frozen fish. The Peñas had been law abiding citizens until the
youngest, Luciano, decided that vastly more money could be made from drugs than fish. He graduated from Cal Berkeley, majoring in business, and understood the essential elements of a business plan. As the only son of the Peña fishing company owner, he would inherit the business from his father. When the old man retired, Peña would be expected to manage the business, supporting his family and his parents until they died. He had been forced to work on the fishing boats throughout his youth and hated it. He knew the numbers and figured there was far more money to be made using the boats differently. He was designing ship modifications even before he graduated. His father and grandfather were alive then but never knew Luciano intended to corrupt the family business. Twenty years later, both had passed away, content that “Luca” had been a far more successful and wealthy fisherman than either of them dared to dreamed.
Experience proved Peña correct when the Drug Wars made less sophisticated transportation techniques obsolete. His fleet was unique, representing millions of dollars of investment in the technology to transport dozens of tons of drugs, undetectably, in each ship. The investments in ship modifications were recovered after the first shipments to the States. With this success, he overwhelmed small-time distributors, and his syndicate grew to control land distribution throughout Northern California, Oregon and Nevada. His