Informant
Page 72
Details of Whitacre’s September 26, 1993, phone call with Shepard from a 302 of that day.
Details of the September 28, 1993, meeting between Whitacre and the FBI from a 302 of that day.
Whitacre continues to publicly maintain that he taped the agents during this case, and there are a number of reasons to believe him. First, I have heard excerpts of one of the tapes, which contains extended portions with Brian Shepard’s voice, making statements that do not coincide with the timing and tenor of other comments of Shepard’s that were recorded accidentally during the price-fixing case. Secondly, there came a point during the investigation when the agents began to suspect that Whitacre was in fact taping them, based on his refusal to remove his jacket even when the room they were in was extremely hot. Finally, Whitacre made it a habit of surreptitiously recording a number of people, including reporters and his subsequent employer. There is no reason to believe that he would not do the same thing with the FBI. His actions, plus the existence of a tape, has led me to conclude that Whitacre did indeed record the agents occasionally during Harvest King.
Details of the events in the Paris hotel lobby on October 5, 1993, from 302 created following an FBI surveillance by Shepard.
–78 Some details of Whitacre’s conversation at the American Embassy in Paris from an FBI 302 of October 5, 1993.
The room number and location for the morning meeting in Forsyth from hotel expense records.
Dialogue and other details regarding the Andreas meetings of October 12, 1993, from a transcript of audiotapes 1B43 and 1B46 for case #60A-SI-46290. Other information from a 302 resulting from Whitacre’s meeting with the FBI that same night.
For privacy reasons, the name “Debbie” was substituted throughout this book for the actual name spoken by Andreas and Whitacre. The same thing was done for every other woman mentioned in a sexually inappropriate way. These women are the unknowing victims of this verbal abuse; I saw no reason to risk subjecting them to public embarrassment.
Dialogue and other details regarding the Ikeda phone call of October 12, 1993, from a transcript of audiotape 1B44 for case #60A-SI-46290.
7 Dialogue and other details regarding the Andreas meetings of October 13, 1993, from a transcript of audiotape 1B47 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Information regarding Weatherall’s call from Whitacre of October 13 from a 302 of that day.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Some descriptive details of the John Wayne Airport from its Web site at www.ocair.com. Some descriptive details of the Irvine Marriott from its Web site at www.marriott.com. Other information from a series of hotel bills and related expense records from the meeting.
The location of the meeting was determined from bills attached to Whitacre’s expense report covering October 25, 1993, and hotel expense records, including an “audiovisual event order’’ through MVP Visual Presentations at the hotel.
The type of plane flown to Irvine was determined from the company log of air travel. Descriptive details of the jet from the company’s aircraft registration, on file with the Federal Aviation Administration. Weather conditions for the flight were described on the recording that day.
The price of the easel from the audiovisual event order.
Details of the October 25, 1993, Irvine meeting from FBI videotapes, as well as transcripts for FBI tapes 1B56, 1B57, and 1B58 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Some details of Whitacre meeting with Herndon on October 25 from an FD-504b, a chain-of-custody record, for tapes collected that night.
Details of Whitacre’s expenses from the original bills. Whitacre’s travel out of the United States documented by immigration records from a foreign country.
Details of Japanese negotiating strategies from March, The Japanese Negotiator. The intention of Ajinomoto is apparent from a translation of the discussions in Japanese of those executives at the Irvine meeting. They are also evident in Whitacre’s many discussions with Mimoto and Ikeda, which are described in transcripts of tape 1B66 (November 8 and 11), 1B69 (November 30), and 1B74 (December 1) for case #60A-SI-46290.
Whitacre’s discussions with Andreas and Wilson from a transcript of tape 1B74 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Some details of Hulin’s nomination and background from “Simon, Moseley-Braun Expect White House to Nominate Hulin,’’ States News Service, October 8, 1993; “White House Nominates Hulin,’’ States News Service, October 12, 1993; and “Hulin Sworn in as First Female U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois,’’ United Press International, January 7, 1994.
Details of Whitacre’s purchase from Radio Shack from a copy of the original bill, dated December 2, 1993.
Details of Wilson and Whitacre’s travels to Tokyo on December 7 from receipts for their expenses on that day.
Dialogue from the December 8, 1993, meeting at the Palace Hotel from a transcript of tapes 1B75, 1B76, and 1B77 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Whitacre’s meeting of February 2, 1994, is described in a 302 by Shepard and Weatherall from that day.
CHAPTER NINE
Herndon described many of the problems during the setup for the Hawaii meeting in his sworn testimony during the trial of U.S. v. Michael D. Andreas et al.
Herndon described the use of the F-Bird in his sworn testimony in U.S. v. Michael D. Andreas et al.
The dialogue and events described from the Hawaii meeting comes from transcripts of tapes 1B94, 1B95, 1B96, 1B98, and 1B101 for case #60A-SI-46290. Some descriptive elements come from my own observations from the Hawaii videotapes.
Wilson’s statement, “I wanna be closer to you than I am to any customer, ‘cause you can make it that I can make money or I can’t make money,’’ comes from my own listening to the Hawaii videotape. This interpretation differs from the government’s transcript. In its transcript, the government records Wilson’s words as “I wanna be closer to you than I am to any customer. ‘Cause you can make us, I can make money. I can’t make money.’’ I have chosen to go with my interpretation for several reasons: First, the words seemed clear when I listened to them. Second, they make perfect sense in context. Third, the words from the government’s interpretation mean nothing and don’t seem to fit in context.
The dialogue of Whitacre’s conversation with Wilson as they walked across the parking lot from a transcript of tape number 1B93 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Whitacre described the citric discussions at the Andreas birthday party in a 302 dated March 7, 1994.
The timing of the meeting between the agents and the prosecutors from a scheduling book of one participant.
The status of the regional price-fixing meetings from the February 13, 1996, 302 of Marty Allison. A copy of notes from the meeting was reviewed by the author.
The preparation and expectations surrounding the ABP check request comes from several sources. First, I obtained a copy of the original document. The document does not contain the personal note written by Whitacre, but it was described in a 302 of James Kirk Schmidt on January 24, 1996. Schmidt said that, after he read the note, he covered it with white-out tape. The tape is visible on the copy. Other elements of this section come from Schmidt’s 302. In addition, the surrounding circumstances are described in the 302 of Beat Schweizer on May 13, 1996. Whitacre’s travel plans from an analysis of his expense reports.
Timing and other details of Weatherall’s retirement from copies of items presented to him at his farewell reception.
Details of the Degussa investigation from a June 20, 1994, memo written by James Baker, a trial attorney for the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, to an official with the economic crimes unit of the FBI. Dahle’s trip to Washington was described in a teletype from FBI-Mobile to FBI headquarters, dated June 23, 1994. The identity of Kyle Rountree as the cooperating witness in this case was learned from a nongovernmental source.
CHAPTER TEN
The July 12 contact from Supervisory Special Agent Dan Larkin of the fraud unit is described in a teletype, dated July 15, 1994, from the Springfield Field
Division to FBI headquarters.
The document described is the Baker memo, dated June 20, 1994.
Some details of the August 1 meeting with Whitacre from a 302 of that meeting.
The August 10 meeting between the Fraud Section and the antitrust team was described in an August 12, 1994, teletype from FBI-Springfield to FBI headquarters.
Some details of the Players Riverboat Casino, as well as the state ordinances on casino gambling boats, from David Snyder, “Lake Charles Bets on Its Boat,’’ New Orleans Times Picayune, December 6, 1993, p. A1; and Richard Stewart, “Lake Charles Casino Takes Care and Cash of Senior Gamblers,’’ Houston Chronicle, January 8, 1995, State section, p. 1.
The August 24 conversation with Rountree, the cooperating witness in the Mobile case, was described in limited portions of a 302 from that date reviewed by the author.
Dialogue from the September 12, 1994, meeting between Whitacre and Andreas from a transcript of tape 1B118 for case #60A-SI-46290.
Details of Howard Buffett’s experiences involving Congressman Durbin and the football tickets from a 302 of Buffett’s first FBI interview, conducted by Special Agent Robert Dale Schuler on June 27, 1995. Durbin was not mentioned by name in the 302, but his identity was determined and confirmed by the author. Through a spokeswoman, Durbin said that he recalled attending a Bears football game with Buffett, but added that he had never requested any tickets and would not do so. Nothing in the text is intended to imply that Durbin made such a request.
The Espy problems were described by David Johnston, “Agriculture Chief Quits as Scrutiny of Conduct Grows,’’ New York Times, October 4, 1994, p. A1.
The October 11 meeting between Whitacre and the FBI is described in a 302 of that date.
Details of the Chicago trip of Whitacre, Wilson, and Andreas—as well as the meeting at the Four Seasons and the return trip—from transcripts of tapes 1B121 and 1B124 for case #60A-SI-46290.
The description of the cab taken by the ADM executives from a receipt of the trip.
Observations of the ADM executives from FBI surveillance 302s written by Herndon and Shepard, dated October 13, 1994.
Details of the October 14 phone discussion between Whitacre and Shepard from a 302 of that date. Whitacre’s location when he made the phone call was established by the author through time stamps on his receipts from that day.
Details of the Scottsdale sales meeting from the February 13, 1996, 302 of Marty Allison.
Richter described talking with Whitacre about his background in his sworn deposition of May 18, 1998, in the case ADM v. Mark E. Whitacre et al., case number 96-2237. This was the first of three days in Richter’s deposition.
Timing and some other details of Whitacre’s visit with Daniel Briel from a faxed memo from Whitacre to Briel, dated October 25, 1994, that was kept on file at the Swiss Bank Corporation’s office in Zurich. Whitacre’s hotel was determined by copies of the bill, which included time stamps.
Whitacre’s news of the Atlanta meeting was described in his 302, dated November 2, 1994, and written by Shepard and Herndon.
The discussion about the possible arrest of the foreign executives during the Atlanta meeting was detailed in a December 8, 1994, teletype from the Springfield FBI to headquarters.
Details of the GE case, and the subsequent reaction, from William W. Horne, “GE Crushes the Trustbusters,’’ American Lawyer, January-February 1995, p. 57.
Details from the Kuno Summer tape of December 12, 1994, from a summary of recording 1B127 for case #60A-SI-46290.
The relationships between Coca-Cola and the Buffetts in that time from a proxy statement of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle, that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 23, 1995.
Howard Buffett’s intention—prior to his knowledge of the FBI investigation—to resign from ADM in December of 1995 from a July 10, 1995, teletype from FBI-Springfield to FBI headquarters, which summarized statements made by Buffett in an FBI interview of June 29, 1995.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Herndon described the problems with the briefcase recorder in his testimony during U.S. v. Michael D. Andreas et al.
Details of the Atlanta meeting from a transcript of recordings 1B30 and 1B31, dated January 18, 1995, for case #60A-SI-46290.
The transcript of Chaudret’s statement in response to Whitacre’s story about receiving his briefcase from a hotel employee quotes him as saying: “Very funny, huh,’’ and adding, “In Paris, it would have already been sold.’’ The author listened to the videotape recording on headphones, and also played it to someone who is fluent in French. Both of us concluded that the transcript was wrong. Since the words we heard made more logical sense than the quote from the transcript, I chose to rely on them in the dialogue.
Some details of Whitacre’s call with Chris Jones from a 302 of Whitacre, dated January 31, 1995, and written by Shepard. Also from a 302 by Craig Dahle, from his interview of February 1, 1995.
Some details of Whitacre’s call with Shepard from the 302 of January 31, 1995.
Some details of Whitacre’s interview with Dahle from a 302 of February 1, 1995.
Herndon’s talk to Bureau headquarters from a written copy of the speech.
Some details of the Hulin meeting were described in an undated E-mail, written by Anne Bingaman to the Chicago antitrust office.
Details on Hulin’s plan to go overt from a routing slip prepared for supervisors in the Springfield FBI and dated February 28, 1995.
Details of Bingaman’s e-mail from the original message.
Details of the Chicago antitrust office’s e-mail from the original message.
Some details of Mimoto’s April 8 conversation with Whitacre from the Ajinomoto executive’s 302, dated July 2, 1996.
Some details of the Oklahoma City bombing from “Terror in the Heartland,’’ U.S. News & World Report, May 1, 1995, p. 28.
Whitacre described his tendency of carrying thousands of dollars in cash in his briefcase in statements to his psychiatrist, which were recorded in an admission note by Dr. Derek Miller dated August 9–10, 1995. Also, Marty Allison of ADM made reference to that in his FBI interview dated September 20, 1996.
Bruch described the April 27 calls on the “hello’’ line and the main office line in a written communication reviewed by the author.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Details of the FBI National Academy event, as well as of Cheviron’s memo to Claudia Manning, from the original memo.
Details of the strategy behind the raid from an internal FBI teletype, dated June 22, 1995.
Some details of Whitacre’s meeting of June 26, 1995, with the FBI from a 302 of the interview.
Details of the flight to Washington by Hoyt and Kilham from the tickets and expense logs.
Some details of the June 27, 1995, FBI interview of Mick Andreas from the 302 prepared by Shepard and Herndon, as well as a summary teletype dated June 28, 1995.
Details of the Dwayne Andreas interview of June 27, 1995, from a 302 of that day, written by Special Agents Alec Wade and Steven Nash.
Details of the Barrie Cox interview of June 27, 1995, from a 302 of the investigation and a summary teletype written the next day.
Details of Buffett’s FBI interview of June 27 from the 302.
Details of Kirk Schmidt’s interview of June 27 from the 302.
Details of the witnesses known by the FBI to have been informed by Whitacre of his role as a cooperating witness from a summary FBI teletype of June 28, 1995.
Some details of the meeting between Whitacre and the FBI in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn from a 302 of that encounter.
The background of Aubrey Daniel III from James Warren, “Back in the Limelight: My Lai Prosecutor Pops Up in Archer Daniels Midland Case,’’ Chicago Tribune, July 16, 1995, Tempo section, p. 92. Other background on Williams & Connolly from S. H. Lawrence, “The Passing of Power at Williams & Connolly,’’ Washington Post, September 19
, 1988, p. F1.
Details of Buffett’s day on June 28, 1995, from a 302 of the following day.
Details of Whitacre’s phone call to the FBI about having hired a lawyer from a 302 dated June 28, 1995.
Whitacre described certain events that took place at Shafter’s office in a 302 prepared by Herndon and Shepard on June 30, 1995. Shafter described those events in a November 10, 1995, letter to Thomas C. Green, a lawyer for John Dowd.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Some details of Whitacre’s nighttime call with Shepard on the day after the raids from a 302 dated June 28, 1995.
Some details of Aubrey Daniel’s late-night call to Whitacre and Whitacre’s subsequent conversation with Shepard from a 302 prepared by Shepard and dated June 29, 1995.
Some details of Whitacre’s morning at ADM, plus his subsequent experiences at the Decatur R.A., from a 302 prepared by Herndon and Shepard, dated June 29, 1995.
Shepard described his conversation with Whitacre, including the mixed-up paging message, in a 302 dated July 1, 1995.
Scott Roberts described his discovery of the bogus ABP International contract to the FBI on January 24, 1996. Some details from this scene come from a 302 of that interview prepared by D’Angelo and Bassett. Other details from original copies of both ABP contracts, as well as signed affidavits from James Randall and Lennart Thorstensson, dated July 29, 1995, and July 17, 1995, respectively.
Rochelli described his conversation with Mark Whitacre several days after the raids in testimony before a federal grand jury on June 20, 1996. Other details come from a 302 of Rochelli’s interview with the FBI on January 24 of that same year.
Details of Whitacre’s July 2 conversation with Shepard were recorded in a 302 of the same date.
Some details of the meeting between Epstein, Daniel, and Simon from notes taken during the meeting by one of the participants.
Some details of Whitacre’s encounter with the Wall Street Journal, and his subsequent lies to Shepard, were recorded in a document entitled “FBI File Information.’’