WEBVTT - Episode 6: The Silent Partner 0:00:15.316 --> 0:00:26.476 Pushkin previously on deep cover. During the late spring of 0:00:26.596 --> 0:00:30.676 nineteen eighty five, FBI agent Ned Timmins was deep undercover 0:00:30.756 --> 0:00:33.876 in the Cayman Islands. His goal was to spy on 0:00:33.996 --> 0:00:37.676 Lee Rich, the kingpin of the drug syndicate. As he 0:00:37.716 --> 0:00:41.156 got closer to Lee and deeper into this world, he 0:00:41.236 --> 0:00:48.156 became increasingly worried. The stress is unbelievable. There's no backup. 0:00:48.356 --> 0:00:50.276 You're not gonna really hit the radio and call nine 0:00:50.316 --> 0:00:52.916 on one. You're nine. You're not gonna be able to 0:00:52.956 --> 0:00:58.516 call for help because nobody's coming. Meanwhile, Lee had problems 0:00:58.516 --> 0:01:02.316 of his own. He worried that the FEDS were watching him, 0:01:02.356 --> 0:01:05.396 and to complicate matters, he says, his go to bank 0:01:05.436 --> 0:01:16.316 in the Caymans was no longer accepting his money for 0:01:16.396 --> 0:01:19.836 Ned Timmins. Being undercover and the Caymans meant hanging out 0:01:19.916 --> 0:01:22.756 with Lee Rich's guys. He'd chill out on the beach 0:01:23.116 --> 0:01:26.756 or at the club and listen for clues. Well, I 0:01:26.836 --> 0:01:31.716 usually was given something to do, you know, oversee the barbecues, 0:01:31.796 --> 0:01:34.156 or make sure there was no trouble at the bar 0:01:34.276 --> 0:01:37.036 with any of the guests. Not exactly the stuff of 0:01:37.076 --> 0:01:41.236 Sherlock Holmes, but ned couldn't ask questions really because that 0:01:41.276 --> 0:01:44.396 would draw suspicions give him away as a narc. So 0:01:44.676 --> 0:01:48.116 he just kept on listening. And then one day Lee 0:01:48.156 --> 0:01:51.876 made a cryptic reference to someone apparently in the organization 0:01:52.356 --> 0:01:58.196 called the general, and I just okay, not knowing general 0:01:58.236 --> 0:02:01.796 of what or general who or whatever, and does your 0:02:01.796 --> 0:02:05.156 whole thing is don't ask questions exactly. You start asking 0:02:05.236 --> 0:02:09.356 questions and people get suspicious. But what's your react action 0:02:09.436 --> 0:02:18.396 to that? Oh? Actually, in the middle of this, they 0:02:18.436 --> 0:02:21.436 realized that I had never been to Advanced Undercover School 0:02:21.676 --> 0:02:25.836 at Quantico, which is two week school. And I got 0:02:25.916 --> 0:02:29.036 orders and they go, oh, you haven't been to Advanced 0:02:29.076 --> 0:02:31.796 undercover school. You got to go to that. It seemed 0:02:31.836 --> 0:02:34.316 like this was the equivalent of a fireman getting called 0:02:34.356 --> 0:02:36.956 out of a burning building to take a refresher class 0:02:36.996 --> 0:02:40.076 on how to use a hose. But this was part 0:02:40.116 --> 0:02:43.076 of a relatively new effort by the FBI to rain 0:02:43.196 --> 0:02:47.356 in and standardize it's undercover practices. So I had to 0:02:47.396 --> 0:02:49.476 make up a story to Lee. I can't remember whether 0:02:49.596 --> 0:02:51.076 made up something that I had to go someplace or 0:02:51.156 --> 0:02:54.996 two weeks. So I go back to Quantico and go 0:02:55.076 --> 0:02:58.596 through Advanced undercover school. You know that's the rules. Whatever. 0:02:59.436 --> 0:03:03.476 What did you learn an advanced undercover school? I don't remember. 0:03:04.396 --> 0:03:06.596 You know what to do and what not to do 0:03:06.676 --> 0:03:11.636 and whatever. So not especially interested in his class work, 0:03:11.716 --> 0:03:15.516 it seems, and perhaps that's because his thoughts were still 0:03:15.556 --> 0:03:20.116 back in the Caymans. That comment about the General he 0:03:20.236 --> 0:03:24.756 got him thinking. Was this just some stupid nickname or 0:03:24.876 --> 0:03:29.236 was Lee talking about an actual general? Was it possible 0:03:29.276 --> 0:03:33.876 that there was someone above Lee. That's just the mindset 0:03:33.876 --> 0:03:35.876 of the FBI. We're going to work this up right 0:03:35.876 --> 0:03:38.236 to the top, just like the mafia. We're going to 0:03:38.276 --> 0:03:40.716 go after the dis We're going to go to the 0:03:40.756 --> 0:03:43.636 top of the food chain and crime. Our objective is 0:03:43.676 --> 0:03:46.116 to work up and kill the head of the snake. 0:03:52.476 --> 0:03:57.676 I'm Jake Halpern and this is Deep Cover Episode six. 0:03:58.196 --> 0:04:27.436 The silent partner. Ned didn't know it at the time, 0:04:27.756 --> 0:04:30.356 but the general that Lee was talking about, and the 0:04:30.436 --> 0:04:34.836 revelation of who he really was would change everything in 0:04:34.916 --> 0:04:38.916 this investigation. And the story of the General really begins 0:04:39.156 --> 0:04:42.916 about two years earlier. So we're going to turn back 0:04:42.996 --> 0:04:49.396 the clock to September of nineteen eighty three. At this point, 0:04:49.596 --> 0:04:52.476 Ned is still hanging out in biker bars in Detroit. 0:04:53.236 --> 0:04:56.236 Lee Rich, mister beach Club if you will, is still 0:04:56.276 --> 0:04:59.476 living the high life in the Caymans, and Stephen Kaylish, 0:04:59.556 --> 0:05:04.836 the gentleman smuggler, has not yet been arrested. Everything's going 0:05:04.996 --> 0:05:09.596 great for these guys except for one thing, their money laundering. 0:05:10.636 --> 0:05:13.116 Le's go to bank in the Caymans, the Bank of 0:05:13.196 --> 0:05:17.516 Nova Scotia wasn't an option, So now Lee and Stephen 0:05:17.676 --> 0:05:21.036 were looking for somewhere else to launder their money. At 0:05:21.036 --> 0:05:23.316 the time, Stephen says, they were trying to move a 0:05:23.356 --> 0:05:27.076 whole bunch of small bills about fifteen million dollars worth. 0:05:27.596 --> 0:05:29.436 Just to give you a sense of how much cash 0:05:29.476 --> 0:05:34.036 that was, it weigh about sixteen hundred pounds, so a 0:05:34.196 --> 0:05:37.276 lot of money. And now they had nowhere to put it. 0:05:37.596 --> 0:05:41.156 So Lee and Stephen they start thinking about where else 0:05:41.196 --> 0:05:47.436 they could take their money and bank it well. The 0:05:47.556 --> 0:05:51.796 other only other solid banking haven that I knew was 0:05:51.836 --> 0:05:56.636 secure was Panama. In the early nineteen seventies, Panama more 0:05:56.716 --> 0:06:00.916 or less deregulated banking, very little oversight now taxes on 0:06:00.956 --> 0:06:04.036 foreign income, and by the time Stephen and Lee were 0:06:04.076 --> 0:06:06.716 in their bind, lots of new banks had opened their 0:06:06.716 --> 0:06:11.916 doors in Panama, which was enticing. Plus, Stephen liked Panama. 0:06:12.156 --> 0:06:15.356 I don't a book report in the third grade about 0:06:15.396 --> 0:06:19.116 the Panama Canal, so it had always held a special 0:06:19.156 --> 0:06:22.836 place of my art. Stephen's summary of its history in 0:06:22.956 --> 0:06:27.276 his third grade book report, it's basically right, the building 0:06:27.276 --> 0:06:30.476 of the canal and the failures of the French I mean, 0:06:31.036 --> 0:06:34.556 the whole way. Panama was actually became a country, you know, 0:06:35.116 --> 0:06:39.476 stolen from Columbia, basically by the US. When Panama broke 0:06:39.516 --> 0:06:42.516 away from Columbia in nineteen oh three, the United States 0:06:42.556 --> 0:06:45.596 lent its support. Then the US signed a treaty with 0:06:45.636 --> 0:06:48.796 Panama and took control of a zone about ten miles 0:06:48.796 --> 0:06:51.876 wide and fifty miles long. There was a canal there, 0:06:52.116 --> 0:06:55.036 or the start of one. Anyhow, the US completed it 0:06:55.236 --> 0:06:58.076 and then stuck around to control that canal and you know, 0:06:58.436 --> 0:07:03.876 cash in on it. So anyway, Panama had a lot 0:07:03.956 --> 0:07:07.756 of allure in Look, I've always been a risk taker, right, 0:07:08.556 --> 0:07:12.236 and a guy with a good rolodex. Stephen eventually connects 0:07:12.236 --> 0:07:16.156 with a guy named Caesar Rodriguez. He was a businessman 0:07:16.236 --> 0:07:19.676 done in Panama with connections to the banking world. A 0:07:19.756 --> 0:07:23.196 guy who could make things happen. So Stephen plans a visit. 0:07:23.516 --> 0:07:26.156 He packs for the trip, you know, the usual change 0:07:26.196 --> 0:07:29.156 of clothes and about three million in cash stuffed into 0:07:29.196 --> 0:07:32.036 some luggage. Then he flies down to Panama in a 0:07:32.076 --> 0:07:37.876 private jet. He lands at the airport in Panama and 0:07:37.956 --> 0:07:40.876 his contact, Caesar, is there to greet him in person. 0:07:41.116 --> 0:07:44.996 He's a young guy, good looking, very friendly, speaks perfect English, 0:07:45.036 --> 0:07:48.556 and he has not one but two stretch limos waiting 0:07:48.556 --> 0:07:51.116 for them. They all head downtown to the Bank of 0:07:51.156 --> 0:07:54.556 Boston building where Caesar operated a club and a big, 0:07:54.636 --> 0:07:59.596 sprawling penthouse. I mean it's very posh, it's very tricked out. 0:07:59.996 --> 0:08:04.996 There's a small little nightclub or restaurant, and Caesar tells Stephen, 0:08:05.876 --> 0:08:10.916 we have a private club here but for Hali businessmen 0:08:11.076 --> 0:08:15.676 and certain military officials that come here for dining and 0:08:15.796 --> 0:08:23.276 drinking and parting in a discreet environment. Later that night 0:08:23.356 --> 0:08:25.676 they sit down and have a meal. They're joined by 0:08:25.676 --> 0:08:31.316 another guy named Enrique Protelt. Casar introduces Enrique as his partner, 0:08:31.796 --> 0:08:35.956 and then very casually, Caesar starts to explain what exactly 0:08:36.036 --> 0:08:39.156 he and Enrique do down here in Panama. In addition 0:08:39.196 --> 0:08:44.396 to running the club, their financiers. Basically, they loan out money. 0:08:44.436 --> 0:08:48.076 And they explain to me that they're Bank of Boston 0:08:48.196 --> 0:08:52.916 Penalves and all their operations going on to Panama. We're 0:08:52.956 --> 0:08:57.636 all run through their shell company that was owned by 0:08:57.756 --> 0:09:02.996 three people. Enrique saysar in a silent third partner, and 0:09:03.156 --> 0:09:06.556 I said really, I said okay, And they said, well, 0:09:06.716 --> 0:09:09.356 what do you want to do in Panama? It's a 0:09:09.396 --> 0:09:13.036 loaded question. Stephen is still not one hundred percent sure 0:09:13.116 --> 0:09:16.036 whether he can really trust these guys. All I tell 0:09:16.116 --> 0:09:17.996 him is I have millions of dollars I need to 0:09:18.036 --> 0:09:20.636 bank in Panama, and I need to fly it in 0:09:20.716 --> 0:09:24.276 from the US, and I need security at the airport 0:09:24.636 --> 0:09:28.396 and secure banks. Caesar died in the eighties, so I 0:09:28.396 --> 0:09:32.596 couldn't interview him, but according to Stephen, Caesar was very accommodating. 0:09:32.876 --> 0:09:35.516 He tells Stephen, yes, we can definitely help you with that, 0:09:35.756 --> 0:09:37.916 and to prove it, they take him to the Bank 0:09:38.036 --> 0:09:42.396 of Credit and Commerce International, well known then as BCCI 0:09:42.916 --> 0:09:46.276 to make the necessary introductions. Stephen wheels in his cash 0:09:46.316 --> 0:09:50.276 and makes his deposits and there's no fee, no commission 0:09:50.356 --> 0:09:54.316 or anything, just thank you for your business. Afterwards, they 0:09:54.316 --> 0:09:57.356 do the same thing for him at another bank. It's 0:09:57.356 --> 0:10:00.596 all going splendidly so far. The question is what does 0:10:00.676 --> 0:10:03.956 Caesar and Enrique want from him? And the next day, 0:10:04.116 --> 0:10:07.756 back at the Penthouse Club, Caesar makes his pitch. He 0:10:07.796 --> 0:10:10.356 says he has a business that loans money to the 0:10:10.396 --> 0:10:14.116 Panama Defense Forces. In fact, the military needs financing for 0:10:14.156 --> 0:10:17.756 equipment a two point two million dollars helicopter, it turns out, 0:10:18.356 --> 0:10:22.356 and maybe Stephen could front the money if you're interested. 0:10:22.436 --> 0:10:25.556 You can make three hundred thousand dollars for setting up 0:10:25.596 --> 0:10:28.876 the financing, and then you can make ten percent interests 0:10:29.156 --> 0:10:32.876 annually own that financing, and it'll be backed up by 0:10:32.956 --> 0:10:37.116 a letter of credit from the Panamanian Defense Forces. Well, 0:10:37.116 --> 0:10:40.156 I said, well that sounds good. You're basically loan sharking 0:10:40.196 --> 0:10:44.436 money to the Panamanian military pretty much. They go on 0:10:44.516 --> 0:10:47.676 to offer Stephen a twenty five percent stake in their business, 0:10:47.836 --> 0:10:52.116 which includes the club and the loan sharking business. Stephen 0:10:52.196 --> 0:10:55.716 pauses a beat and then asks, I go, okay, what's 0:10:55.756 --> 0:10:57.396 the buy in? And they go four in a grand 0:10:59.316 --> 0:11:01.516 and I go okay, well, what's four in a grand 0:11:01.556 --> 0:11:04.956 buy me? They go, well, there's only one catch. You 0:11:05.036 --> 0:11:08.756 got to meet our partner, and I go, well, who's 0:11:08.796 --> 0:11:14.356 your ark And they go, oh, it's General Noriega. And 0:11:14.476 --> 0:11:18.636 I go, okay, well who is General Noriega? And they 0:11:18.676 --> 0:11:22.716 both look at each other like I'm stupid, and I go, look, guys, 0:11:24.076 --> 0:11:27.956 you know, excuse me. I don't know how things work here, 0:11:27.996 --> 0:11:31.636 so you got to explain it to me. So they explain. 0:11:32.356 --> 0:11:36.196 Noriega is the strong man who currently controls Panama, and 0:11:36.316 --> 0:11:41.716 his story it goes like this. Manuel Noriega was born 0:11:41.756 --> 0:11:45.956 in Panama City in nineteen thirty four. Abandoned by his parents, 0:11:46.116 --> 0:11:49.076 he was raised by a woman called Mama Luisa, who 0:11:49.076 --> 0:11:52.076 we referred to as his godmother. He was a smart kid, 0:11:52.396 --> 0:11:55.356 gets into a really prestigious high school. But he's not 0:11:55.396 --> 0:11:58.716 just smart. He's an operator. As a teenager, he joins 0:11:58.716 --> 0:12:02.756 Panama's socialist youth party, goes to protests, and writes articles 0:12:02.756 --> 0:12:07.556 criticizing Uncle Sam. Noriega goes onto a military academy in Peru. 0:12:07.916 --> 0:12:11.196 He returns and joins the National Guard. He then rises 0:12:11.196 --> 0:12:14.236 through the ranks, eventually becoming a general, and once he's 0:12:14.236 --> 0:12:18.436 at the top, he maintains power brutally. All this time, 0:12:18.476 --> 0:12:21.956 he's developing a close relationship with the CIA. He quietly 0:12:21.996 --> 0:12:25.436 supports the Contras, a right wing military group in Nicaragua. 0:12:25.556 --> 0:12:28.316 He helps the d EA and the drug wars. He's 0:12:28.356 --> 0:12:31.756 also close with Fidale Castro in Cuba. This is a 0:12:31.796 --> 0:12:35.156 guy who plays all sides and all the while he 0:12:35.276 --> 0:12:38.356 lines his own pockets and little business deals with the 0:12:38.436 --> 0:12:42.436 likes of Caesar and Enrique. And at the club and 0:12:42.516 --> 0:12:47.236 the penthouse overlooking Panama City, Caesar and Enrique tell Stephen, 0:12:47.676 --> 0:12:52.676 you two can be part of our little partnership, but 0:12:52.836 --> 0:12:56.676 you gotta meet Noriega first. And he's got a site 0:12:56.716 --> 0:13:02.036 off only being part of the company. So I said, okay, well, 0:13:02.236 --> 0:13:08.956 let's go met Noriega. So Caesa says, well, he might 0:13:09.876 --> 0:13:13.156 take him our present, and I go, what do you 0:13:13.156 --> 0:13:17.236 mean take him at present? He goes, well, you know, 0:13:18.036 --> 0:13:21.436 as a sign of respect and a sign that you're 0:13:21.556 --> 0:13:26.316 serious about learning the stay in Panama and dupists in Panama, 0:13:26.916 --> 0:13:31.916 you might want to give him something of value. So 0:13:31.996 --> 0:13:35.196 he stuffs three hundred thousand dollars in a briefcase and 0:13:35.316 --> 0:13:38.636 heads over to Noriega's house. This would be just a 0:13:38.636 --> 0:13:41.836 three hundred thousand dollars gift, separate from the four hundred 0:13:41.956 --> 0:13:45.796 K he'd already put in. It was like well a sweetener. 0:13:46.196 --> 0:13:49.316 Stephen hoped that it would do the trick. When we 0:13:49.396 --> 0:14:07.396 come back after the break, Stephen meets the general. So 0:14:07.996 --> 0:14:11.796 Stephen Kayleish, the gentleman smuggler, you know, the hippie kid 0:14:11.836 --> 0:14:14.756 from Texas. He gets a ride over to General Manuel 0:14:14.836 --> 0:14:20.236 Noriega's house with his briefcase filled with cash. Ah. We's 0:14:20.276 --> 0:14:24.196 got high walls with ivory growing in, lots of military 0:14:24.236 --> 0:14:29.556 personnel walking patrolling the area. It's a beautiful home. I'm 0:14:29.716 --> 0:14:33.076 escorted in his office and I sit down and I 0:14:33.116 --> 0:14:37.836 set the briefcase down next to his desk. Noriega is 0:14:37.876 --> 0:14:41.756 dressed in his military uniform. His most unusual feature is 0:14:41.756 --> 0:14:45.196 the skin on his face, which is badly pockmarked. Some 0:14:45.236 --> 0:14:48.876 people even called him a pineapple face, but always behind 0:14:48.876 --> 0:14:53.196 his back, never ever to his face. To Stephen, he's 0:14:53.276 --> 0:14:57.796 very friendly. They start chatting small talk, and eventually Noriega 0:14:57.836 --> 0:15:01.276 asked him why he's in Panama, and Stephen kind of 0:15:01.316 --> 0:15:05.556 boldly says, he's looking for a new home, place that 0:15:05.636 --> 0:15:09.516 I can live in peace and quiet out I under 0:15:09.556 --> 0:15:13.756 the prying eyes at the US cover month, I said, 0:15:13.796 --> 0:15:17.756 I earn a lot of money, not interested in baying 0:15:17.916 --> 0:15:21.116 US taxes, and I want to bank my money's in panamall. 0:15:22.156 --> 0:15:25.876 According to Stephen, Riega quickly tells him not to worry. 0:15:26.076 --> 0:15:29.636 He would personally look after Steven's needs and that was 0:15:29.716 --> 0:15:32.476 kind of it. Stephen says, thank you, and he gets 0:15:32.556 --> 0:15:37.076 up to leave without the briefcase. Noriega, noticing this, calls 0:15:37.116 --> 0:15:39.716 after him. I turned around and said, no, it's pot 0:15:39.716 --> 0:15:43.076 a team, but I said it's for you, and he 0:15:43.156 --> 0:15:48.236 goes looks at me, you know, pretty serious faith, and 0:15:48.436 --> 0:15:56.516 I just smile. The gift goes over well. Stephen thought 0:15:56.516 --> 0:15:59.036 he might make some money by joining this little partnership, 0:15:59.676 --> 0:16:03.116 but he slowly realizes that what he'd really get was 0:16:03.156 --> 0:16:09.316 an ally, a very powerful ally. Later on saysar it's 0:16:09.316 --> 0:16:12.356 a call from Noriega. He wants Stephen to join them 0:16:12.356 --> 0:16:14.956 at a private party that night at the offices of 0:16:14.996 --> 0:16:18.516 the Panama Canal Company. We go to the offices, I 0:16:18.556 --> 0:16:22.676 don't know, around six six thirty and it's like I'm 0:16:22.756 --> 0:16:26.876 Noriega's best friend. I mean, when I show up, he 0:16:26.996 --> 0:16:30.716 gives me an open embrace with both arms and says 0:16:30.836 --> 0:16:35.196 that I'm welcome in Panama. And he'll make sure that 0:16:35.436 --> 0:16:43.556 everything goes away. I wanted to go. The party is 0:16:43.556 --> 0:16:47.236 mainly military people, a dozen or so colonels, a few majors, 0:16:47.516 --> 0:16:50.836 and a bunch of beautiful women. Lots to eat and drink. 0:16:51.156 --> 0:16:55.716 It's a scene that Stephen very much enjoys. At some point, 0:16:55.916 --> 0:16:59.756 Noriega offers to show him around. Noriega takes me to 0:16:59.876 --> 0:17:03.876 his own office, and it's this beautiful office that overlooks 0:17:04.316 --> 0:17:10.076 with picture windows overlooking the Panama Canal. Noriega goes back 0:17:10.076 --> 0:17:13.756 to the party and closes the door to his office 0:17:13.796 --> 0:17:17.676 and leads me sitting at his desk watching ships go 0:17:17.836 --> 0:17:21.396 by in the Bantama Canal, thinking about that third grade 0:17:21.516 --> 0:17:26.716 report I wrote, making out line to Cocaine no Noriega's 0:17:26.756 --> 0:17:32.996 desk and storming the lines right, thinking okay, I think 0:17:32.996 --> 0:17:40.556 Panama is going to work out just fine. And it did. 0:17:41.116 --> 0:17:44.316 Steven soon returned to Panama with another couple million dollars 0:17:44.476 --> 0:17:48.156 and per Noriega's instructions, landed at his air Force base 0:17:48.636 --> 0:17:52.196 and there was no customs, there was no immigration, there 0:17:52.276 --> 0:17:55.836 was no inspection of anything. Our jet taxied over to 0:17:55.836 --> 0:17:59.916 the air Force base and every day had literally climbed 0:17:59.916 --> 0:18:03.356 out of the plane into the limousine they'd off Were 0:18:03.356 --> 0:18:08.236 you with? In time, Stephen manages to get multiple Panamanian passports, 0:18:08.356 --> 0:18:12.716 including a diplomatic passport. It was a money launderer's dream, 0:18:13.116 --> 0:18:16.316 especially for Stephen, who was still a fugitive for his 0:18:16.556 --> 0:18:19.596 entire adult life. Stephen Kayliss had been running from and 0:18:19.676 --> 0:18:23.036 evading the law, and now he was protected by a 0:18:23.076 --> 0:18:28.476 man who was seemingly above the law. Stephen was untouchable. 0:18:29.316 --> 0:18:33.596 For me, it was not enough. I mean I wanted more, because, 0:18:33.636 --> 0:18:39.116 if you know, the evolution from having money becomes having power, 0:18:40.356 --> 0:18:45.716 and Panama was an opportunity to have power, real power. 0:18:46.156 --> 0:18:49.836 So I asked myself what it would take, you know, 0:18:49.876 --> 0:18:52.916 what's it going to take for Noriega to really to 0:18:53.036 --> 0:18:58.116 trust me and for me to solidify this relationship. So 0:18:58.236 --> 0:19:00.716 next Stephen makes it his goal to get closer to 0:19:00.796 --> 0:19:05.396 Noriega literally, or I want to find home, you know, 0:19:05.476 --> 0:19:10.436 in close proximity, you know, and close proximity to what 0:19:10.676 --> 0:19:12.596 I mean? Are you actively thinking I want to become 0:19:12.636 --> 0:19:17.076 Noriega's neighbor, Well, I want to live in the same area. Yeah, 0:19:17.116 --> 0:19:19.996 And he does it. Within months of their first meeting. 0:19:20.116 --> 0:19:23.596 Stephen finds a house just three blocks away from Noriega, 0:19:23.636 --> 0:19:27.436 and the relationship just grows from there. Stephen introduces him 0:19:27.476 --> 0:19:31.596 to women, wrangles an invitation to Noriega's ranch, even gets 0:19:31.596 --> 0:19:34.276 the general to stations soldiers outside of his house to 0:19:34.316 --> 0:19:38.636 stand guard, And when Noriega gets invited to Washington, DC 0:19:38.956 --> 0:19:41.716 in November of nineteen eighty three for an official visit, 0:19:42.236 --> 0:19:45.356 Stephen loans him his personal jet to use while he's 0:19:45.356 --> 0:19:50.316 in the US. On this visit, he met with a 0:19:50.396 --> 0:19:54.316 host of top level US officials, including the Secretary of Defense. 0:19:54.876 --> 0:19:58.836 He also met with William Casey, the director of the CIA. 0:19:59.156 --> 0:20:03.196 Noriega described their meeting as a leisurely four hour lunch. 0:20:03.756 --> 0:20:06.516 In his memoir, he wrote, I had been the US 0:20:06.596 --> 0:20:09.916 contact person throughout the nineteen seventies. I was well known 0:20:09.956 --> 0:20:13.596 to everyone in the CIA. Now with Casey, the relations 0:20:13.636 --> 0:20:17.836 would become tighter. After his time in DC, Noriega took 0:20:17.836 --> 0:20:21.196 Stephen's jet to Las Vegas, where he shopped, drank, and 0:20:21.276 --> 0:20:26.076 played Roulette. Then we came back to panamall well. He 0:20:26.156 --> 0:20:29.876 insisted that ip it is receiving line when he was 0:20:30.236 --> 0:20:34.436 returning to panamall right, so I'm waiting in line as 0:20:34.436 --> 0:20:38.276 he getting off of my jap. Stephen says that Noriega 0:20:38.356 --> 0:20:41.076 makes his way down the receiving line and then stops. 0:20:41.076 --> 0:20:43.836 When he gets to Stephen. They have a quick chat. 0:20:44.196 --> 0:20:47.436 Noriega says, the US wants him to do two things. 0:20:47.956 --> 0:20:52.316 One keep helping the Contras, that right wing militia in Nicaragua, 0:20:52.396 --> 0:20:56.076 and two open up the banks in Panama for inspection. 0:20:56.876 --> 0:21:01.316 Stephen was hanging on Noriega's every word. Inspections would mean 0:21:01.356 --> 0:21:05.116 trouble for him, but Noriega puts his fears to rest. 0:21:06.196 --> 0:21:08.876 He goes, I don't remind help him with a contras. 0:21:09.476 --> 0:21:14.356 I'd never opened the banks. Stephen let that sink in. 0:21:14.956 --> 0:21:17.796 The top power brokers in the US wanted to clean 0:21:17.876 --> 0:21:21.996 up Panama's banking sector, which would ruin Stephen's money laundering scheme, 0:21:22.316 --> 0:21:27.116 and Noriega says he rebuffed them, told them no. This 0:21:27.236 --> 0:21:30.956 is all according to Stephen. In Noriega's memoir, he doesn't 0:21:30.956 --> 0:21:34.396 mention meeting Kaylish, making this deal, or using his plane, 0:21:34.836 --> 0:21:37.356 But then again, why would he. This is not the 0:21:37.436 --> 0:21:40.636 kind of relationship you want to advertise. In any case, 0:21:40.956 --> 0:21:46.436 Stephen was pleased. I'm thinking this is what power looks like. 0:21:46.876 --> 0:21:50.396 I've never felt safe in my life. I have this 0:21:51.036 --> 0:21:55.556 great home, I have great staff, I got military guards 0:21:55.556 --> 0:21:59.996 outside my house. You know, I feel pretty untouchable at 0:22:00.036 --> 0:22:04.236 the moment. Stephen soon began planning a four hundred thousand 0:22:04.236 --> 0:22:07.956 pound load destined for New York City, disguised as a 0:22:07.996 --> 0:22:13.076 shipment of plantation hanes from Panama. So it's full steam ahead. 0:22:14.396 --> 0:22:17.836 As a token of his gratitude, Stephen started lavishing Noriega 0:22:17.876 --> 0:22:20.676 with gifts. But what exactly do you buy for the 0:22:20.676 --> 0:22:24.276 dictator who's got everything? Stephen starts by giving him two 0:22:24.476 --> 0:22:29.076 gold plated rifles and some ivory handled pistols collector's pieces 0:22:29.156 --> 0:22:32.996 worth in total about thirty thousand dollars. But he was 0:22:33.116 --> 0:22:38.956 just getting started. I bought Noriega a presidential plane. I 0:22:39.036 --> 0:22:41.876 actually paid the millions of dollars for it and got 0:22:41.916 --> 0:22:44.556 a letter of credit from the Panamanian government for it. 0:22:45.356 --> 0:22:48.116 Just to be clear here, what Stephen really did was 0:22:48.156 --> 0:22:52.436 provide the financing. Nonetheless, it was a grand gesture, and 0:22:52.556 --> 0:22:56.436 naturally he had an ulterior motive. Stephen just wanted a 0:22:56.516 --> 0:23:00.436 small favor to occasionally have his plane fly to Washington, 0:23:00.476 --> 0:23:02.996 d C. Where Steven's guys would load it up with 0:23:03.036 --> 0:23:06.596 some trunks of drug money marked with diplomatic seals. The 0:23:06.716 --> 0:23:09.756 seals would mean no one could open them. In return, 0:23:09.996 --> 0:23:13.956 Noriega would get a cut. According to Stephen, Noriega agreed. 0:23:18.196 --> 0:23:20.836 At this point. You may be wondering what happened to 0:23:20.956 --> 0:23:25.236 Lee Rich mister beach club. Wasn't he the guy in charge. 0:23:25.876 --> 0:23:28.596 He did make at least one trip to Panama with Stephen, 0:23:28.996 --> 0:23:32.836 But this whole Panama thing, it was Steven's baby, and 0:23:32.916 --> 0:23:37.076 once Stephen was buddy buddy with Noriega, everything began to change. 0:23:37.516 --> 0:23:41.716 Stephen was now handling the smuggling and the financing. Lee 0:23:41.836 --> 0:23:45.076 wasn't entirely comfortable with this arrangement, but there wasn't a 0:23:45.076 --> 0:23:47.876 lot he could do about it. They needed Noriega now. 0:23:48.876 --> 0:23:51.956 As for Stephen, who'd been a fugitive for years, he 0:23:52.156 --> 0:23:55.356 finally felt like you could breathe a bit easier. He 0:23:55.436 --> 0:23:58.156 didn't need the Canons or the US for that matter. 0:23:58.516 --> 0:24:02.596 He could just chill in Panama. But he was still 0:24:02.676 --> 0:24:06.796 handling the logistics for his massive op America's heartland. There 0:24:06.796 --> 0:24:08.876 were a few things he still had to do, like 0:24:09.156 --> 0:24:13.036 closing down his safe house in Tampa, so he returned stateside, 0:24:13.316 --> 0:24:16.276 and that's when the FEDS nabbed him. This was the 0:24:16.276 --> 0:24:18.676 big arrest at the airport in Tampa that we told 0:24:18.676 --> 0:24:23.156 you about an episode four. So when I finally did 0:24:23.156 --> 0:24:26.996 get arrested, I figured, well, maybe I'll figure this out somehow. 0:24:27.036 --> 0:24:30.596 And I had millions of dollars stashed in panamall and 0:24:32.276 --> 0:24:36.516 so they was from that day four. Then I started 0:24:36.516 --> 0:24:38.836 working on a way how to get up get myself 0:24:38.836 --> 0:24:44.196 out of my problem. Meanwhile, back on the Cayman Islands, 0:24:44.436 --> 0:24:47.236 Lee Rich Mister Beach Club was left to clean up 0:24:47.236 --> 0:24:50.316 the mess. He now had to juggle it all, smuggling, 0:24:50.436 --> 0:24:52.796 money laundering and just trying to stay out of jail 0:24:53.876 --> 0:24:57.996 all the while Ned was just one step behind him. 0:24:58.076 --> 0:25:01.276 When we come back, Ned starts to connect the dots, 0:25:01.836 --> 0:25:20.636 and so does the CIA. It takes Ned a little 0:25:20.636 --> 0:25:23.916 while to piece it all together because at first, when 0:25:23.996 --> 0:25:26.956 Lee mentioned the general down and came in, Ned was 0:25:26.996 --> 0:25:30.036 just confused. I had no idea if that's talking about 0:25:30.076 --> 0:25:35.036 Columbia or or you know who where. But then Ned 0:25:35.036 --> 0:25:38.796 recalled another clue that Lee had dropped a couple days later. 0:25:39.476 --> 0:25:42.996 He referred to him as old pineapple face. Pineapple face, 0:25:43.516 --> 0:25:47.276 that's what did it. Eventually Ned realizes who this must be. 0:25:48.076 --> 0:25:51.676 He didn't know all the details or politics surrounding Noriega, 0:25:51.836 --> 0:25:57.436 but he knew enough. Noriega was the CIA's boy into 0:25:57.476 --> 0:26:02.916 Castro and into the Russians big boys club. Okay. Ned 0:26:02.956 --> 0:26:05.876 worried that his discovery would stir up trouble in a 0:26:05.956 --> 0:26:11.516 big way. And the CIA, in my mind, really didn't 0:26:11.556 --> 0:26:14.556 give a shit about drugs or what was going on. 0:26:14.596 --> 0:26:20.156 They're focused on their mission, which was intelligence and the 0:26:20.236 --> 0:26:25.196 big picture. By exposing Noriega as a bad guy, Ned 0:26:25.236 --> 0:26:28.516 would be interfering with the CIA's mission, and that's not 0:26:28.636 --> 0:26:32.356 something Ned wanted to do. He was already pretty worn out. Remember, 0:26:32.516 --> 0:26:35.196 he had just returned home from a stressful time down 0:26:35.196 --> 0:26:38.716 in the Caymans, and now he had a new potential enemy, 0:26:39.116 --> 0:26:43.076 the CIA. He began imagining how this all might play out. 0:26:43.796 --> 0:26:48.756 CIA always has contract people that worked for them. They'll 0:26:48.836 --> 0:26:53.476 kill you, and I didn't trust them. I was constantly 0:26:54.276 --> 0:26:59.636 leary of them. A bit paranoid maybe, but his worries 0:26:59.636 --> 0:27:03.636 about pissing off the CIA were well founded. Over the years, 0:27:03.756 --> 0:27:06.716 Noriega had worked hard to cultivate an image as an 0:27:06.756 --> 0:27:10.316 ally in the US War on drugs. These efforts got 0:27:10.356 --> 0:27:13.596 him friends in Washington. Noriega had a whole stack of 0:27:13.676 --> 0:27:17.036 letters from his US admirers, like one from the U. S. 0:27:17.076 --> 0:27:21.076 Attorney General written in nineteen eighty four, which said, thank 0:27:21.116 --> 0:27:24.356 you for your continued support and our mutual efforts to 0:27:24.396 --> 0:27:28.196 suppress illicit drug trafficking and to ensure a safer and 0:27:28.396 --> 0:27:33.516 healthier environment for all of our citizens. So if this 0:27:33.556 --> 0:27:36.956 got out that Noriega was in fact at the very 0:27:37.076 --> 0:27:41.036 top of this massive drug smuggling operation, well that'd be 0:27:41.116 --> 0:27:45.636 a huge embarrassment to the American government at large. The 0:27:45.796 --> 0:27:50.676 CIA did eventually get wind of Ned's investigation. At some 0:27:50.756 --> 0:27:54.756 point they contacted another FBI agent who worked closely with NED. 0:27:55.236 --> 0:27:58.556 I spoke with this agent. He's now retired, but still, 0:27:58.796 --> 0:28:01.036 even all these years later, he didn't want to go 0:28:01.076 --> 0:28:04.436 on the record. He told me that two CIA agents 0:28:04.476 --> 0:28:08.396