Path to Justice

by Jim Dutton

  Judge Orsini replied, looking directly at attorney Lipman, “Mr. Drummond will be allowed to make his inquiry. If Mr. Sendow testifies as Mr. Drummond relates, you’re free to call Mr. Drummond as your witness for any possible clarification or elaboration. Frankly, I don’t see why you’d do that because it’d likely reinforce Mr. Sendow’s testimony on the subject matter. If you choose to call Mr. Drummond, that won’t be a basis for removing him from the case. Mr. Drummond, you may proceed with your questioning.”

  “Mr. Sendow, when you walked between counsel tables on the way to the witness stand, did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?”

  Mr. Sendow looked at Luis. “Yes, I did. Mr. Lopez said in a quiet voice to me, ‘You are muerto.’”

  “What do you understand that to mean?”

  “Muerto is Spanish for ‘dead.’ I understood it to mean, ‘You are dead.’” Nick looked over at the jury. Several were aghast. Nick let it sink in for a moment before moving on to Lester’s criminal background and how he met Mr. Lopez and the other defendants. Lester told the jury about his receiving stolen property conviction for embezzling client funds. Lester then described how he ran up a large debt, betting on the ponies. He was referred by his bookie to Mr. Lopez as a person who needed an accountant and could help out with his debt. Lester met Mr. Lopez, and they hit it off, talking about horse racing. Mr. Lopez offered him a $50,000 retainer, the amount of his gambling debt. Mr. Lopez told Lester that he was a wholesaler of agricultural products grown in Mexico. Over the next several months, Lester met the other two defendants, described as business partners, at dinners at Mr. Lopez’ compound above Rosarito Beach. They never got into any detail about the type of agricultural products they were selling. They spoke of moving the product throughout the United States and into British Columbia, Canada.

  In response to another question, Sendow replied, “We also discussed the movement of cash dollars across the border.”

  Nick asked, “Did you think the business was above board when you started to work for them?”

  “I tried not to think about it. I didn’t ask many questions. I liked the money.”

  “Did you help them with moving U.S. dollars across the border?”

  “Yes. Luis told me they had a big cash problem—their buyers were paying for the products in dollars because dollars were a more stable currency than pesos. The defendants’ business couldn’t deposit the cash dollars into Mexican banks because of Mexico’s drastic limits on the amount of cash dollars one could deposit. Mr. Lopez told me that they were delivering the cash dollars to a chain of Mexican exchange houses, called Numero Uno, that for a three percent fee Numero Uno would courier the money across the border, deposit it in U.S. border banks, and then wire the money to a Mexican financial account. The Mexican regulations don’t restrict the wire transfer of dollars to Mexican accounts or even the deposit of checks in dollars—only the deposit of cash dollars. The defendants were concerned about a couple of the exchange house couriers being busted by the feds for transporting over $10,000 in cash across the border without declaring it.”

  “Did you help them out with this process?”

  “Yes, I told them to use legitimate business partners to transport the cash across the border and have those people declare the currency on the U.S. Treasury form, which is called the Currency Monetary Instrument Report. If the cash is declared at the border, it is perfectly legal to bring it across. Once the cash is across, I told them to deposit the full amount into a U.S. bank. I told the defendants not to worry about the filing of a Currency Transaction Report(CTR) by the banks for cash deposits in excess of $10,000. I explained to them that the banks were trained about criminal enterprises structuring cash deposits under $10,000 to avoid the filing of a CTR. The structured cash deposits trigger banks to file Suspicious Activity Reports(SARs). Law enforcement has access to SARs and reads these reports. Law enforcement doesn’t look at CTRs unless an investigation has already commenced.”

  “So, did they change their business model for bringing the cash over and depositing it in U.S. banks?”

  “Yes, they followed my suggestions. Further, they used two businesses that they had worked with, L&M Freight, operated by Hector Morales, a trucking business, and Latin America Productos, an import-export food business, owned by the Sakias. The businesses took the money across and deposited it in their U.S. accounts. Then the money was either wired to the Mexican account under the defendants’ control, or cashier’s checks were written to the Mexican account.”

  “Did you ever meet with Mr. Morales and the Sakias?”

  “Yes. I met with them several times. They had business offices on both sides of the border. They appeared to be running legitimate businesses. One of the Sakias’ businesses, World Food Imports, had numerous warehouses in the United States and Canada.”

  “Where exactly?”

  “In Otay Mesa, Salt Lake City, Missoula, Chicago, Vancouver, and New Orleans. There may have been others.” Nick thought, Shit!, we missed the New Orleans warehouse.

  Nick continued with the questioning about the movement of cash. Lester corroborated the agents’ testimony about the U.S.-based accounts, and confirmed that the two front companies, combined, were moving about a $5.5 million in cash, per month, across the border into various U.S. border banks and then immediately transferring the money to a Mexican account.

  Nick then directed Lester through his adventures in Yaak, Montana. Lester described Biker Sue down to the blue bandana wrapped around her head. He told the jury how he and Mr. Lopez had stood out in the brand new Escalade in a wilderness of cowboys and pickups. He described Biker Sue’s quizzical look when they asked about property for a corporate retreat by the Canadian border. She told them about Yaak and various logging roads on either side of the border that could be used for corporate bonding through off-road, four —wheeling. She suggested they get some jeans and cowboy boots, or at least tennis shoes, to fit in better. He and Mr. Lopez later drove around Yaak and found a logging road which led to the Canadian border.

  Lester explained he was surprised, when about a month later, Mr. Lopez told him to meet him at Lindbergh Field—they were flying to Spokane, Washington, in a private jet where they would rent a car and go over to Yaak for some R&R. At the turnout to the logging road, they met up with two Hispanics, driving a flatbed truck with two Ranger four —wheelers. Lester described how he watched them unload the off-road vehicles and throw duffel bags in the back of each one. Lester could smell the odor of marijuana.

  Nick asked, “Did you say anything to Defendant Lopez at the time?”

  “Yes. I asked him what was going on. He looked at me and smiled. He said, ‘200 pounds of marijuana and 50 kilos of black tar heroin are in those bags. The penalty for federal drug distribution is 20 years. You’re one of us now. No going back.’ He took me by my shoulders and had a callous glint in his eye. He asked, ‘You understand what I mean by no going back?’”

  “I stuttered a response, ‘I did.’”

  “What happened next?”

  Mr. Lopez and I got in one of the off-road vehicles, he was driving, and the two Hispanics got into the other. We drove close to five miles along the logging road until we saw two posts and a chain with a sign that said, Canadian Border Ahead, Do not Cross. We got out and lugged the duffle bags to a small clearing at the actual border. Within a few minutes, a pickup truck drove up from the Canadian side. We exchanged duffle bags. We brought the bags back to the flatbed truck at which time the bags and the off-road vehicles were loaded onto the truck.”

  “Did anyone say anything when you were back at the flatbed?”

  “Mr. Lopez said, ‘Mr. Money Man Accountant, have you ever seen two duffel bags full of 100 dollar bills?’ Before I could answer, he unzipped the bags. Stacks and stacks of $100 bills were banded together.”

  “Did you think there was any way out for you after defenda
nt Lopez brought you along on the drug exchange?”

  “No, I thought my life was finished until you and your agent approached me about turning state’s evidence and being placed in a protective witness program.”

  “Did you have an attorney who went over a cooperation agreement with you?”

  “Yes. It depended on my complete cooperation and truthful testimony. I would plead guilty to one money laundering count and one drug distribution count, and would serve no more than three years in prison. It’d be up to the judge to sentence me within the three year parameter.”

  “Did you have an occasion to wear a wire as part of the investigation?”

  “Yes. I wore a wire when I met Mr. Sakia at his business office and when I met Hector Morales at his business office. We discussed their money laundering operations for the cartel.”

  “Your Honor, I won’t be asking any questions about the taped conversations with this witness because the tapes have already been played for the jury through the agent monitoring the conversations.”

  “Thank you Mr. Drummond. I’m glad you’re conscious of not wasting the jury’s time.”

  Nick moved on to a highlight of Lester’s testimony. “A couple of weeks before we initially approached you about cooperation, did you go to Defendant Lopez’ compound?”

  “Yes.”

  “When you had been at the compound before, had you seen a young lady in defendant Lopez’ company?”

  “Yes, Felicia.”

  “Was she there on your last visit before we contacted you?”

  “No, I asked Mr. Lopez where she was. He said, ‘We wouldn’t be seeing that Bitch anymore. She was being taken care of.’”

  “What did you understand that to mean?”

  Mr. Lipman immediately rose and said, “Objection, calls for speculation and it’s irrelevant what Mr. Sendow thought the statement meant.”

  Judge Orsini sustained the objection, “The jury is capable of giving whatever weight and meaning to the statement it chooses.” Nick gave the jury a puzzled look, trying to convey that an answer to his question should have been allowed. Judge Orsini gave Nick a hard look and Nick moved on.

  “Please describe defendant Lopez’ appearance at that time.”

  “His right arm was in a sling. I saw blood seeping through. I asked him what had happened. He replied, ‘Nothing, just twisted my shoulder a bit.’”

  “Did you ask him how he had blood seeping through when he had just twisted his shoulder a bit?”

  “No, I knew when to keep quiet.”

  A prosecution timeline showed that Lester saw Luis’ bloody arm shortly after the Donzi ocean racer engaged in a shoot out with the Coast Guard during the early morning smuggling operation. Nick had no further questions.

  The defense poked around quite a bit. They tried to portray Lester as an untrustworthy criminal, who’d say anything for law enforcement to save his own skin. It didn’t seem to stick with the jury. Lester answered each of their questions calmly and fully. He never got defensive. The defense wasn’t able to rattle him. They wisely gave up after attorney Flanigan asked, “You seem awfully calm up there, are you on any drugs or medication?”

  Lester smiled, “I’m not on any drugs or medication. I feel better than I have ever felt in my life. I’m in God’s hands, I’m a candidate for the Catholic priesthood.”

  Nick couldn’t help but notice that one of the last jurors impaneled, a Hispanic woman, in her forties, who was active in community affairs, was wearing a crucifix much like the one Lester was wearing.

  Nick called Pepe as his last witness for the day. Pepe described how, a week after the Coast Guard interdiction of the drug smuggling, he was an observer with the Baja Norte State Police in their safety inspection of the Rosarito Beach harbor. They inspected defendant Lopez’ enclosed boat dock and took photos of his 22 foot, Donzi Classic ocean racer. Nick displayed the photos to the jury which showed multiple bullet holes along the right side and top of the boat.

  The defense knew better than to question Pepe at length. Nick thought, All things considered, a very good day.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Nick only had two witnesses left to call in his case-in-chief. A forensic scientist, who could trace the tar heroin seized in the investigation to a 10-mile strip of land in the coastal mountains of the state of Jalisco, and a DEA agent who took samples of soil along the 10-mile strip and other regions of Mexico. Nick was holding back Felicia’s cousin Alan for rebuttal. He was gambling on Luis, and the other defendants, putting on alibi evidence to try to demonstrate they had nothing to do with the motorcycle drive-by shooting. Alan’s testimony would remind the jury at the end of the case about the shooting in Aunt Rosa’s front yard that almost killed Ana.

  The morning evidence went in smoothly. The DEA agent explained that he was part of a joint project with Mexico to take soil samples at various agricultural regions of Mexico known to produce marijuana or poppies. Two years ago, the agent and his Mexican counterparts took several soil samples from a 10-mile stretch of coastal land in the state of Jalisco, known for the production of poppies for the Baja Norte Familia cartel. The project resulted in hundreds of soil samples throughout Mexico’s illicit grow regions. The agent described the protocol for withdrawing the samples from the ground—packaging each sample in a vacuum sealed container and personally delivering the samples to the DEA lab for analysis.

  Dr. Len Trotter, employed by the DEA lab in Washington D.C., related his curriculum vitae to the jury. He had doctorate degrees in microbiology, as well as pedology, the study of soil. The first ten years of his professional career consisted of working with major vintners in California and France, studying the soils in wine producing regions and quantifying the soil profiles that were most effective in producing high quality grapes. For the last 15 years, Dr. Trotter had been working for the main DEA lab in Washington D.C., analyzing the mineral components of illicit drugs, derived from plants. He spoke of a five-year project that consisted of analyzing the mineral components of heroin seized by law enforcement, and tracing them to specific geographic regions in the world by matching a drug sample with a soil sample taken from the particular poppy grow region.

  Dr. Trotter testified that the various amounts of Mexican black tar heroin, seized in the Baja Norte Familia investigation, were analyzed for their exact mineral components. The profiles of each batch of heroin seized, which included exact percentages of calcium, iron, magnesium, nitrates, phosphates, and potassium, were remarkably similar. The profiles were then compared to the soil samples taken from the 10-mile coastal region of the state of Jalisco, as well as other poppy growing regions in Mexico. Dr. Trotter opined that the tar heroin seized in this case came from the tested coastal area in Jalisco.

  Nick didn’t want to go into too much detail with Dr. Trotter. He wanted to keep the jurors interested. He believed he had accomplished this with the assistance of several color graphs depicting the soil and heroin mineral compositions. Let the defense bore the jurors on cross-examination. The defense took the bait and had Dr. Trotter on the stand for hours with questions about the lab’s scientific protocols.

  Nick only had one question on redirect. “Dr. Trotter, considering all the questions by defense counsel over the last few hours, has your opinion as to the origin of the black tar heroin changed?

  “No. The black tar heroin seized in this case came from a 10-mile mountainous region along the coast of the state of Jalisco, Mexico.”

  “Thank you Doctor. No further questions. The People rest.”

  Judge Orsini informed the jury, “The People have completed their presentation of evidence in their case-in-chief. The defense now has the opportunity to present evidence. They’ll start tomorrow, as it is almost 4:30. Have a good evening. Remember don’t discuss the case with anyone, or watch or listen to anything about this case. You’re excused. See you tomorrow at 9:00.�
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  Nick had a strong feeling of relief as he packed up his briefcases. Lester’s testimony the day before had gone well and although today’s testimony lacked the wow factor Nick would have preferred to leave the jury with, it was still interesting and solid. Any boredom today was attributed to the exhaustive defense questioning. The prosecution’s evidence over the entirety of the case went in well.

  Nick liked to evaluate his performance and the case at every important milestone of a trial. Nick believed that his performance, and how well a case went in, weren’t entirely predicated by a jury’s verdict of guilty or not guilty. Sometimes, he wasn’t at his best and the jury still came back with a guilty verdict. Others times he felt he had performed like Clarence Darrow and the jury came back with a not guilty verdict. One case like that still bothered Nick. It was an assault with a deadly weapon case where the victim lost vision in one eye. The jury came back with a not guilty verdict, buying the defendant’s self-defense claim. The real problem with the case was that the victim looked and spoke like a stereotype dirt-ball defendant, while the defendant was a school teacher, tall, handsome, and well-spoken. The jury believed that the defendant, who could have lived next door to them or taught their kids, had been reasonably provoked by the victim’s angry words into swinging a baseball bat to the victim’s head. Nick learned a long time ago to never take a jury for granted.

  It had been two weeks of defense witnesses. A seemingly endless parade of businessmen from both sides of the border, espousing that the three defendants were legitimate businessmen. This was interspersed with alibi witnesses and the wonderful things the defendants had done for the community.

  Nick and Josh made their points where they could on cross-examination. Contrary to the defense contention that Mexican businesses were paid in cash dollars, the Mexican businessmen acknowledged, on cross-examination, that they were often paid by check, credit card or pesos. Additionally, Nick and Josh knocked out most of their community “enhancement” witnesses on relevancy grounds.