1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: Previously on smoked we see visible evidence of the federal 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: commitment to the war on criminal drug smuggling in South Florida. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: This is what's the candy store. I mean, you want 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: to see dope, Mr Vice President, you want to see guns, 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: We got plenty of them for you. It will be 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: quite a father and Randy Lanier's cap he finishes, and 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: particularly if he is named Rookie of the Year. We 8 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: sent a message out there that we've had enough of 9 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: this might say this ain't working. There's more to life 10 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: than just money. Until we can pull a heck, could 11 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: I be on the top of the world. Is high 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: when the bottom falls out? Is going to fall out? 13 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: Probably just west of the Kentucky border and a few 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 1: hours drive from the company's warehouse in Warsaw is the 15 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: small town of Benton, Illinois. I mean the closest I 16 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: guess metropolitan area would be Carbondale, Illinois at saw You 17 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: All University was there. Jack Kerry is a long time 18 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,839 Speaker 1: defense attorney in the area. Came out of East St. 19 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: Louis over in my law office in Belleville. It was 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: because of this case that I was the first lawyer 21 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 1: on my block to get a fax machine. But this 22 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 1: was this was one of the requirements. They said, Now, Jack, 23 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,559 Speaker 1: if we want to put you here as local council, 24 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: you're gonna need a fax machine. Okay, I've got one, 25 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: and thanks to Randular near I guess. Today Benton is 26 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: home to just a few thousand people, but in the 27 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: late eighties it became the unexpected setting for a high 28 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: stakes trial that involved fast cars, mountains of marijuana, and 29 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: a coast to coast drug smuggling network worth millions. I'm 30 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: a firm believer in what you call venue. You put 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: the case where it happens, that's where the venue should be. 32 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: And I didn't understand, well, how in the world. I mean, 33 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: this is why and Benny in South Florida, where the 34 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: smuggling organization was born, and not in New Orleans or 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: San Francisco or New York where the group landed barges 36 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: filled with marijuana from Columbia, but in a little midwestern town. 37 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: I am convinced to this day that the Justice Department 38 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: had been embarrassed by this group of guys. The d 39 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: e A had been embarrassed, and I think they sought 40 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: out a venue where they knew they would have a 41 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: hospile judge, a hostile jury. Put them, if you will, 42 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: in the middle of nowhere. From the Colombian mountains to 43 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: the French countryside to the Indianapolis record books. Randy's double 44 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: lives had taken him around the world and into the 45 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: middle of nowhere. I sort of knew the assist at 46 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,519 Speaker 1: u s attorney prosecuting the case, who was a very 47 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: qualified man as Michael Carr, Randy Lightning Lanier was becoming famous, 48 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: or famous enough to make an example of. I should Mike, 49 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: you know, how deep do you want to bury this man? 50 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: I said, we'll need a plumber of piping plunlight Soon 51 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: he would be infamous for me. It was depressing. They 52 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: didn't want to witness the crucifixion because I knew where 53 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: it was going. From the Miami Herald and McClatchy studios, 54 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: this is smoked. I'm Amy Driscoll, I'm Alex Harris, and 55 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: this is part four. After his stunning Rookie of the 56 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: Year triumph at the Indie five hundred and that eighty 57 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,679 Speaker 1: six season, Randy racked up three more top ten finishes. 58 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: When I used to go to a race track, I 59 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: didn't focus on trying to set a track record. I 60 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: focused on doing the best that I could do at 61 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: the time. That August, he pushed even harder. In a 62 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: qualifying run at the Michigan International Speedway, he broke his 63 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: personal record. The fastest I've ever went was at Michigan 64 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: International Speedway. We were two min eight connors in the 65 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: starting field or over last year's record. One of them 66 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: Rand the Lightning Lamire. The race was broadcast live on 67 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: NBC with a celebrity voice on pit road, Olympic gold 68 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: medalist Caitlyn Jenner, referred to at the time by her 69 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: former name, Here's Bruce. It's surprising that Randy Lanier is 70 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: doing so well, especially in the five in a mile races, 71 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: because he comes from a road racing background. Even if 72 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: the race was marred by repeated crashes and on the 73 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: one lap that afternoon, Bobby ray Hall the leader of 74 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: the race at two hundred and fourteen miles an hour, 75 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: Randy's high speed life would change forever. You were living 76 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: flat out, really hard, you know, with this incredible lifestyle. 77 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: I had my food on the throttle, absolutely yes, fool 78 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: tilt go, and then from there you drove it right 79 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: into the wall, yeprad. Randy lave there against the wall 80 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: really last time moving in the car, but have a 81 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: damage for the right side and tread. He had crashed 82 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: and I picked up him to breathe from his crash 83 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: and I cut a tire. I mean, damn me. That 84 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: car is beat up on every end, really a bad red. 85 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: But I hit the wall coming in tune three and 86 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: slid down track into the infield. Randy, Lannaire is still 87 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: in the car. The rest of your crews are there 88 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: and that car is totally destroyed. I knew I was hurt, 89 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: absolutely had a compound fraction to the right famer bone. 90 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: The condition of Lanaire still in doubt. Let's go to Britain. 91 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: They have the helicopter all warmed up as taken Rady 92 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,679 Speaker 1: a little air out of the hospital. The impact shattered 93 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: Randy's right leg, but not his racing ambitions. He told 94 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: us that at the time he thought the months of 95 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: rehab would be the only obstacle to getting back on 96 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: the track. That was a very top today for everyone 97 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: at the Michigan five. Yet the Michigan five hundred turned 98 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: out to be Randy's final major race for other reasons. 99 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: I was planning all going back, but then I got indighted. 100 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: Good evening. Usually I talked with you from my office 101 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: in the West Wing of the White House, but tonight 102 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,799 Speaker 1: there's something special to talk about, and I've asked someone 103 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: very special to join me. By the late eighties, President 104 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: Ronald Reagan had intensified his war on drugs. The President 105 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: find into law the Anti Drug Abuse Act, creating mandatory 106 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: minimum sentences for certain drug offenses. Okay, last time, this 107 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: is drugs. Around the same time, the Partnership for a 108 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: Drug Free America launched an iconic ad campaign with a 109 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: fried egg this is your brain on drugs, any question, 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: and in a White House address that became a cultural touchstone. 111 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,799 Speaker 1: First Lady Nancy Reagan talked about creating a drug free America. 112 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: So to my young friends out there, say yes to 113 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: your life, and when it comes to drugs and alcohol, 114 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: just saying no. South Florida was ground zero for the 115 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: enforcement effort, and in the fight between agents and smugglers, 116 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: there wasn't much room for sympathy. There is no such thing, 117 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: I think as non violent drug crime. For drug dealers, 118 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: if you're driving a ton of pot into Miami, you're 119 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: not just a driver. Tom Raffaello is the d E 120 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: A agent from that South Florida Task Force. He wasn't 121 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: directly involved in Randy's case, but he represents a viewpoint 122 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: shared by many in law enforcement then and some now. 123 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: The damage done by the drug trade is something he 124 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: thinks shouldn't be forgiven just because a few decades have 125 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: gone by. On the other end, there's gonna be collateral damage. 126 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: People are gonna get shot, Families are gonna get destroyed. 127 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: You're a co conspirator to that devastation and you should 128 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: pay for it. You're not a hero, you're not a groundbreaker. 129 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: You shouldn't be given lectures. You caused the death and 130 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: the destruction of a lot of families, and that is 131 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: what you should be wearing around your neck. The National 132 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: Crackdown on Drugs had agents hunting traffickers all over the country, 133 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: and in six a low level dealer in Illinois gave 134 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: them a lead they had to follow. Randy and the 135 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: other members of the company didn't know it yet, but 136 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: agents had just pulled the first thread that would eventually 137 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:13,559 Speaker 1: unravel their entire organization. Someone in Illinois, who then backed 138 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: down to a guy in Louisiana, who then backed down 139 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: to us. That's Charles who had a front row seat 140 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: to the unfolding drama. He said, the organization knew South 141 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: Florida law enforcement was investigating them, but that low level 142 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: dealer was from Illinois, and authorities there wanted control of 143 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: the case. And they actually went to Washington, d c. 144 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: And fought over our case, and Illinois made the case 145 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,439 Speaker 1: that we have more time, we will commit the resources 146 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: to investigate this to the very last seed. Southern District 147 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: Floid is not able to their too overwhelm, they can't 148 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: do the job. And so they got it from their investigators. 149 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: Found a mid level dealer in New Orleans and flipped 150 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: him too. He had a shipment of weed. It wasn't Randy's, 151 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: but he gave up all his sources to the coups, 152 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: including the company, and then they went up the chain 153 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: that way, and then they chain our way. Look, well, 154 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: they had been sitting there at a patchy powerboat Marina, 155 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: small little thirty million dollar operation there. And what I 156 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,599 Speaker 1: am that Ben has Ben Kramer, Randy smuggling partner in 157 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: high school friend and they had Randy. So you know, 158 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 1: I think Ray Charles could have seen this and said 159 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: something's going on here. So that's what they had. You know, 160 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 1: they didn't really have a lot of financial records. They 161 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: really didn't. We were pretty good about it. But the 162 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: government has ways of persuading people to talk, and Randy's 163 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: organization had plenty of people who would make a deal. 164 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: They found ways to give them enticements to get less 165 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: of prison sentences. If you cooperate, you can walk out 166 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: the door. If you don't, you will give a substantial 167 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: amount of prison town And the people that got called 168 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: doing something else nothing concerning me, gave up all of 169 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: their suppliers. Randy's case was investigated by the FBI, the 170 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: d e A, and the d c I the Illinois 171 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: State Police Division of Criminal Investigation. We tried to interview 172 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: several of the investigators. They wouldn't talk to us for 173 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,839 Speaker 1: the podcast, although one did agree to tell us about 174 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: the case as long as we protected his identity. He 175 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: confirmed that the investigation that started in Illinois led to 176 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: a truck driver from North Carolina and then to the 177 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: New Orleans dealer. According to court documents, investigators first became 178 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,319 Speaker 1: aware of the company's shipments of pot back in April. 179 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: The same month, the two Whittington brothers were arrested. Randy 180 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: had another problem, as law enforcement climbed the rungs of 181 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: the company's org chart. The money trail led to one 182 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: man who could tear down the entire enterprise, Randy's friends 183 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: since high school, Charles Podesta. They nabbed him committing a 184 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: low level crime. Yes, what happened. It was very stupid 185 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: on my part, but you know, you get to that 186 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: point where you feel you're invent simple. You've been so 187 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,719 Speaker 1: lucky for so long, you feel you pretty much can 188 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,559 Speaker 1: do anything you want and get away with it. So 189 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: few of our people in our group went ahead and 190 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: got fake birth certificates and got driver's licenses, okay, and 191 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: so they got me one. So I go in to 192 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 1: get the driver's license and it didn't work, and so 193 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: I was arrested. Officers arrested Charles trying to pick up 194 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,839 Speaker 1: an I d under the name Anthony Fasio, and they 195 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: caught him with the notebook Charles used to catalog the 196 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: company's transactions. I was on my way to do some 197 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: other errands and I had a briefcase in the trunk 198 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: of the car and it had about and I don't know. 199 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: I didn't have much money, about twenty and a small 200 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: little notebook that was really kind of coded. It really 201 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: wasn't clear what it was, and it was on the 202 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:45,719 Speaker 1: last load that we had done. I was still in 203 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: the process of collecting money. In fact, when this all 204 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: came down, I had a stash house for I was 205 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 1: holding on to about six and a million dollars in cash, 206 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: and oh if, I had a couple of problems on 207 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: my hand. And by January, federal prosecutors in southern Illinois 208 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: had indicted Randy ben Kramer and the other top members 209 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: of the company as drug kingpins. And it just was 210 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: a domino effect, and eventually Domino right to me. While 211 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: investigators in Illinois were hot on Randy's trail, South Florida 212 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: prosecutors had their own plans for the big name race 213 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: car driver. They indicted Randy on a whole other set 214 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: of drug charges. That case landed him on the radar 215 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: of a Florida prosecutor named Lothar Gangy. In the mid eighties, 216 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: I was in charge of the organized crime Strike Force 217 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: in Fort Lauderdale and we were working with CLUS a 218 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: number of d A agents IO S agents and so 219 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: forth gangs work in Flora and I had nothing in 220 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: common with the Illinois investigation until he got a phone 221 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: call from a British investigator. I re see a call 222 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: from a new Scotland Yard and this was like in February, said, 223 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: we have developed this interesting case that really sent us 224 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: in for lauda Dale Miami, and we'd like to come 225 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: down to Florida to discuss it. And it turns out 226 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 1: that New Scotland Yard detectives had stopped or arrested a 227 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: fugitive of ours in one of the other drug cases. 228 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: That transatlantic drug ring was charged with smuggling a hundred 229 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: thousand pounds of pots into the US, a fraction of 230 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: Randy's company, but the cash from those deals went through 231 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,079 Speaker 1: front companies in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle 232 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: of Man. Now Scotland Yard comes down here to tell 233 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: us about this, and we decide to have a basically 234 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: a joint investigation with the New Scotland detectives and it 235 00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: basically Randy Lanier received some of the marijuana Shipment's gang 236 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: got to Randy before the task force in Illinois, but 237 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: not by much. We had two branches that were investigating 238 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: me and the e A gout an indictment out of Miami, 239 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: which was separate from the FBI in Illinois, So a 240 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: lot of indictments with different charges and different smuggling operations. 241 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: As I recall, he surrendered himself, but like I said, 242 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: in our case, he was not a principal of the 243 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: particularly drug organization, and he also was not involved in 244 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: the international money laundering. So he was let out on bond. 245 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: And that's when the Illinois indictment landed. Investigators there were 246 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: ready to drop the net over a man they said 247 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: was the head of the biggest marijuana smuggling ring they'd 248 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: ever seen. I was at the Charter Club apartment in Miami. 249 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: I had a place there. His fall began with the 250 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: broadcast blurring from a t V scream above a deli counter, 251 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: and I go down to the deli to get some 252 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: bagos and cream cheese and stuff, and behind the counter 253 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: was a TV and it was live at my front 254 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: gates of my house, and Davy I was one boy. 255 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: He looked up from his order to see law enforcement 256 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: agents swarming the gates of his home on live TV. 257 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: It was in the channel whatever Local six. At my 258 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: house at my front gates, and what'd you do? We 259 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: saw that. I went back up to my apartment and 260 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: packed my bags and left the state. Actually I didn't 261 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: leave the state. I went Central Florida to what we 262 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: call the stash House, and I stayed in the stash 263 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: House until I organized them away out. Did you tell 264 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: your wife where you were going or was that too dangerous? Absolutely? Not. 265 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: His wife had just given birth to their son. Yeah, yeah, 266 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: he was just born. Yeah. Had you seen him yet? Yeah? Yeah, 267 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: she had had a little complications. I think he was 268 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: seven days old. A debt moment. He had been a 269 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: couple of times holding him and looking at him. When 270 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: the Feds closed in, Randy took off, fleeing an indictment 271 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: with much stiffer charges than he'd ever thought possible in 272 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: legal ease. Randy and the five others were charged by 273 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: prosecutors in Illinois with being principal administrators of a continuing 274 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: criminal enterprise, distributing more than one thousand pounds of marijuana, 275 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: and defrauding the I R S. In other words, they 276 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: said Randy was a drug kingpin. When I got indicted, 277 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: I found out through my lawyers that I'm looking at 278 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: up to life. And when they handed the new indictment 279 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: to my attorney, the statement from the U S attorney was, well, 280 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: maybe he'll cooperate now, and I chose it to Tom 281 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: to not do that. From the stash house in central Florida, 282 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: Randy flew to more distant shores its Winser, Italy, France. 283 00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: Were you able to enjoy yourself at all that time 284 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: or were you just yeah, I was enjoying myself. I 285 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: was just taking cure of business too, So you're still working, 286 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: just moving money. In fact, despite investigators closing in on 287 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: the company, Randy's team had brought in one last bargeload 288 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: just before Thanksgiving eighty six, a hundred and thirty seven 289 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: thousand pounds. According to court documents at the Sand and 290 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: Gravel Yard in San Francisco, the millions from that shipment 291 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: alone could have set Randy up for life on the lamb. 292 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: Anybody that's involved in something illegal, you take steps to 293 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: try to avoid getting caught. So sure you worry, Maybe 294 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: you didn't. You wouldn't be taking such evasive steps from 295 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: different I d s and passports and stuff like that. 296 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: How many different passports did you have? Several? But his 297 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 1: run lasted only nine months and ended on a balmy 298 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: afternoon off the Caribbean coast of Antigua, well east of 299 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 1: Puerto Rico. I was anchored on a leeward side of 300 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: an island called Bar Buddha and getting ready to go 301 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: get some lobsters and some conk for my lunch. He 302 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: was aboard that sixty foot fishing boat he bought after 303 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,360 Speaker 1: his first win in the Riverside Grand Prix. Ready, let 304 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: me get two first. At the end of six and 305 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: a little plane lands over on the glassy runway, and 306 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: unbeknown to me it was FBI agents. Soon after that 307 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: plane landed, a big naval vessel blocked Randy's return to shore. 308 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:36,360 Speaker 1: I tried to get away on zodiac across the bay, 309 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: hopped out and ran down a dirt road, and a 310 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: bunch of jeeps end up capturing me. Local authorities caught 311 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: the runaway race car driver barefoot. He was cuffed, and 312 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: the kingpin was flown to Illinois to stand trial. The 313 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,199 Speaker 1: stakes were immediately clear. The government alleged Randy's company had 314 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 1: imported more than six hundred and thirty thousand pounds of 315 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: marijuana from six and that Randy alone had made sixty 316 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: eight million dollars from it. At the time, it was 317 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: the largest pot case ever prosecuted in the United States. 318 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: Following President Reagan's Anti Drug Abuse Act, that crime carried 319 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,159 Speaker 1: with it a mandatory life sentence, and by the summer 320 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: of what stood between Randy and his freedom were a judge, 321 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 1: a jury, and dozens of witnesses. A team of high 322 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: profile defense attorneys joined the case, including Albert Krieger, the 323 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 1: man who once defended mobster John Gotti. And there was 324 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: a local guy. Okay, my name is Jack Carey. I'm 325 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: an attorney at law in Belbo, Illinois, license in the 326 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: state of Illinois, Colorado, Missouri, and I think I'm still 327 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: a licensed in the United States Supreme Court. Jack was 328 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: a gear head. As he put it, he had first 329 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: heard of his new client two years earlier when Randy 330 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: broke Michael andre These record in Indianapolis. And I said, Lanier, 331 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: guy at the Indianapolis It takes not only a skilled, 332 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 1: skilled driver, but you've got to have state of the 333 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: art equipment, and obviously Randy Lanier and his resources had that. 334 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: So I first heard the name Randy Lanier at There 335 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: were four men at the defense table when the trial began. 336 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 1: The two heads of the organization Randy the logistics guy 337 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: and Ben Kramer, the supply guy. Then there's GANE. Fisher, 338 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,879 Speaker 1: another South Florida man who helped coordinate the barge. And 339 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 1: another name you haven't heard yet, K. D. Bell Jr. 340 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: He owned the sand and gravel yard in San Francisco. 341 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: We spoke recently with Kay. He told us that testimony 342 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: from one of the other figures in the case, William Palumbo, 343 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 1: could have helped exonerate him, but the government wouldn't allow 344 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: the testimony in his trial. Basically, there is a fellow 345 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: who rented the dock from me. His name was Palumbo, 346 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: and he was one of the cooperating witnesses in the 347 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: case who cooperated with the government. He had spoken about 348 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: the other involvement of the other people and stuff, and 349 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:13,640 Speaker 1: was a witness against the other defendants. But as it 350 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,160 Speaker 1: applied with me, Collembo said that I was not aware 351 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: of what was going on, which is true. Palumbo said 352 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: he did not want to talk to us about the case. 353 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: Became maintains that the testimony could have proved he didn't 354 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: know what was on the barge coming into his dock. Yeah, 355 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: I wasn't told. I wasn't aware and he didn't ask 356 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: because you kind of need something funny was up or what? Yeah, 357 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: it seems suspicious to me. The government agreed with that 358 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: part anyway. And there's one more name to know, even 359 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,919 Speaker 1: if he wasn't on trial that day. George Brock was 360 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: in charge of the barge like Jean Fisher. In fact, 361 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: Charles said the secret compartments for his idea, how anybody 362 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: else come up with this idea before you go? And 363 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 1: actually was at an idea. It was George Brock's. Yeah, 364 00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: the shipping. So it was a force of nature that 365 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: come together with everybody having a specialty. Rock like Randy 366 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: went on the lamb after the indictment came down. He 367 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: didn't face the charges until decades later after a lengthy 368 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,360 Speaker 1: extradition process from Australia. Randy and his tribe was prosecuted 369 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 1: under the Rico r I c O statue. Here's Carrie again. 370 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: It was designed basically for the mafia and our government 371 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: has managed to bring in uh weed, merchants and called 372 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: girls and everything else under that Rico statute. The prosecution 373 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: was led by Michael Carr at the time. The Assistant 374 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: u S Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Today 375 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: he's the state attorney in neighboring Jackson County. He declined 376 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: an interview for this podcast. The car still lists Randy's 377 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: case on his resume as a high profile prosecution. As 378 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 1: far as the government was concerned, I think there were 379 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: over twenty four witnesses d e A, FBI drug analysis, 380 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: things like that. I mean, you know, Vegas made it 381 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: look like that if these guys didn't go away forever, 382 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 1: the earth would collapse within itself. It was every day, 383 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: five days a week for three months. Was tension stress, 384 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: something I wish no one had to go to. Don't 385 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: misunderstand me. Randy's defense team and everybody else's defense team, 386 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 1: they put on one hell of a defense, which if 387 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: you listen to what is happening today, when reasonable minds 388 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: are taking cannabis as they should, it's incidental. But nobody 389 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: in the Southern District, at least of all that settle 390 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: judge or anybody from the d e A wanted to 391 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: hear it that Judge James Foreman died in two thousand 392 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: and twelve. Prosecutors knew at the trial they didn't have 393 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: a barge full of pot to show the jury. Yeah, 394 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 1: the operation didn't get pitched. I mean it had already 395 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: came in, got distributed, got sold, got collected. Now that 396 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: the merchandise ever got caught, I have a completely dry case. 397 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: After two years of investigating the company, they had flipped 398 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: plenty of witnesses who would testify that Randy made money 399 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: as a race car driver, but he made a living 400 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:12,199 Speaker 1: as a drug smuggler. To see your comrades on the 401 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,679 Speaker 1: other side, but some of them making up stories, not 402 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: telling the truth. It was trying tom for me and 403 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: your wife and kids. Were they in the courtroom too? 404 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: My wife, but not the children. I didn't want them there. 405 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: According to the investigator who spoke anonymously, the most important 406 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: witness in that trial was the man who conspicuously wasn't 407 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: there at the defense table, Charles Podesta. Two events made 408 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: me finally cooperate. The birth of my son, who's now thirty, 409 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:51,640 Speaker 1: and the other was that the other co defendants finally said, look, 410 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: we don't care what you're gonna do, Chuck, We're going in. 411 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: They already know everything. There's nothing they don't know. Stuck 412 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: in a cell in Southern Illinois. Charles only one way 413 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:05,119 Speaker 1: out At that point, I said, I'm in deep for 414 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: eleven days. Charles testified about everyone's roles in the organization. 415 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: According to reports in the local Southern Illinois newspaper, he 416 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: told the jury he rented stash houses and reinforced their 417 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,680 Speaker 1: bedroom doors with steel to protect the drugs and cash inside. 418 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: Charles explained his notations in the notebook he had been 419 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: arrested with cataloging the company's transactions. I'm telling you what, 420 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: it was the hardest thing I've had to do, the 421 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,679 Speaker 1: hardest thing I had to do ever to sit there 422 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: and look at especially Randy. But the alternative was my 423 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: son was born. What did I owe them? And what 424 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,400 Speaker 1: did I owe my family? What did I owe my son? 425 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 1: And I knew that where we were, in this southern 426 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: district of Illinois, there was no mercy, There was no hope. 427 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: We had. Our jurors were farmers, these hard working people. 428 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,199 Speaker 1: Dollars they may make a year, and they're listening to this. 429 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,680 Speaker 1: How can they even fathom it? Private jets traveling around 430 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: the world, tarmac transfers off the concorde that he throw, 431 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: you know, sitting there with Charles in that Miami cafe. 432 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 1: It was clear how much the memory haunts him. And 433 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: I'm even emotional that when I think about it. Um, 434 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: Randy was a friend. She's still a friend. I had 435 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: a deep admiration for him. I wanted his attorney to 436 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 1: know why I did what I did, because the real 437 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: bottom line was this. If I had done nothing and 438 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: I just said no, I'm not going to talk to 439 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: you guys, okay, nothing would have changed. There was already 440 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: enough people that knew every inch of every bit of it, 441 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: and all I was going to do is get a 442 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: lot more time and probably not seeing my son told 443 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: him was you know. So these were very difficult decisions, 444 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 1: Um that today still affect me, you know. But we 445 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 1: did what we did. It was against the law. Do 446 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:10,119 Speaker 1: I agree with law, Absolutely not, but we did. Ultimately, 447 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: it took the jury thirty hours of deliberation to agree 448 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: with Charles Jack Kerry. Randy's local lawyer left the courtroom 449 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 1: even before the verdict was read. Did you ever think 450 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: that there was a chance that he might be found 451 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:30,399 Speaker 1: not guilty? No, dear, No, I mean if the jury 452 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,159 Speaker 1: would have come back and found him not guilty. You know, 453 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 1: I think that judge would have said, wait a minute, 454 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,640 Speaker 1: we need a new trial. Randy, Ben Kramer, and Jeane 455 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,199 Speaker 1: Fisher were found guilty of being principal administrators of that 456 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 1: massive criminal enterprise. Randy, Jean Ben, and Cabell were also 457 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: found guilty of conspiring to distribute marijuana, and Randy was 458 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: found guilty of conspiring to commit tax fraud. At the 459 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,640 Speaker 1: age of thirty four, his life seemed all but over. 460 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: I had a natural death sentence, life with no pro 461 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: natural death. I was sentenced to the remaining balance of 462 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 1: my natural life for we, for we that they've never found. 463 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: At the sentencing, prosecutor Michael Carr said, quote, you have 464 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: before you, judge one of the richest men in the 465 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,159 Speaker 1: United States because of his dealings and drugs. It is 466 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 1: now time for the court to send a message that 467 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:26,679 Speaker 1: this will not be tolerated. Randy argued a life sentence 468 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: was cruel and unusual and that a person shouldn't spend 469 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: the rest of their life in prison for pot, but 470 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: the judge was unmoved, even as Randy broke down in tears. 471 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: Judge Foreman said, quote, You've caused a lot of heartache, 472 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: and individually, you've ruined a lot of lives in this country. 473 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: Look at what it's done to you. You know, I've 474 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: gotten to know a couple of those guys, and especially Randy, 475 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: because he and I have a couple of hours in 476 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: this cell. We're talking this, we're talking back. We're not 477 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: always talking case. Can you help my wife? Can you 478 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: help my daughter? Doing what I can? Randy, you know 479 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: that type of thing. Years carry again, I couldn't get 480 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: anyone to have any empathy. He used to have a 481 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: joke down here, he who gets on the bus first 482 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: gets the best seat. If somebody wants to try to 483 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: negotiate some type of leniency, you know, we'll listen. There 484 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 1: was no listening. There was no empathy. There was no 485 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: judicial discretion. Brandy's distribution and tax fraud sentences were forty 486 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,719 Speaker 1: years and five years, respectively, to be served concurrently with 487 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: his life sentence. Ben and Jean received similar punishment. If 488 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: you do one year in prison or twenty five years, 489 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: the difference is not so important as the fact that 490 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: just being in prison. Jean died in July, but in 491 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: his later years he co hosted an online radio show 492 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: protesting marijuana incarcerations called Voices of the Cannabis war. I 493 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: think it's rather significant to take that you can get 494 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: a life set such as I got in a bunch 495 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: of people I know I have got and there was 496 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: no victims. They specifically point that out, they said there 497 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: are no victims. Cabell was sentenced to twenty five years 498 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: for his role in the company's smuggling. Charles Podesta was 499 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: sentenced to twelve years in prison. I think we were persecuted, 500 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: not prosecuted. I did break the law. It was a 501 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: law in the books, somewhere the law in the books, 502 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: so I needed to be punished. But there's a difference 503 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: between the correct punishment and being persecuted. Randy and Ben 504 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: were ordered to forfeit sixty million dollars apiece. Jane was 505 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: ordered to forfeit thirty million. The combined one hundred and 506 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: fifty million dollars was at the time one of the 507 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: largest forfeiture judgments in history. Mike Carr, the prosecutor, told 508 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: the Associated Press that the organization was quote without question, 509 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: one of the biggest, if not the biggest, for distributing 510 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: marijuana in the country. We're trying to hit them where 511 00:30:56,720 --> 00:31:00,360 Speaker 1: it hurts, in their pocketbooks, and on top of everything, 512 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: there in Illinois. Randy still faced the other indictment in 513 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: Florida for that transatlantic pot ring. Yet he told us 514 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: he never second guess not cooperating with the government. Were 515 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: you thinking you were going to go to trial and 516 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: beat it? I knew I couldn't beat it or lost 517 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 1: his tenacity? So why why did you turn down the 518 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:18,760 Speaker 1: flee deal? And then I figured I could to keep 519 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 1: keep it real. I was maybe full of myself. I 520 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:29,400 Speaker 1: have confidence, and sometimes that maybe can be utmental many 521 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: ways to the top of the mountain. Someone's just more direct. 522 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: I'm Amy Driscoll, I'm Alex Harris. This podcast is produced 523 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: by Kara Tabor and Davin Coburn and McClatchy Studios and 524 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 1: The Herald's Emily Michow and Matthias Ackner, and thanks to 525 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: Christine di Matte at w l r N Studios. For 526 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: lots more on this story, including a video about the 527 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,520 Speaker 1: South Florida Drug Task Force. Go to Miami Herald dot 528 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: com slash smoked. To continue supporting this kind of work, 529 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: consider a digital subscript into The Miami Herald. Is it 530 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,800 Speaker 1: Miami Herald dot com slash subscribe for more information, Leave 531 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts on 532 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: part five have smoked the end of two eras. So 533 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: he actually became a classic because he was an Indy 534 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: car driver and will look at this so they could 535 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: make a big example out of him. Cases were made, 536 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: but I don't know that we had a profound effect 537 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: on the problem. And that's really what it should have done. 538 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 1: You lose your freedom to once you crossed the threshold 539 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: of the door into a federal penitentiary, your rights go 540 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: as well. Imagine living in that kind of tension, and 541 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: yet you didn't lose your humanity and you could still 542 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 1: be a good guy. I had multiple plots throughout my 543 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,480 Speaker 1: twenty seven years. You weren't like tunneling out like El 544 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 1: Chapo or something for you that was tunnel in one 545 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: of these prisons. Did they find it might still be there? Yes, 546 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 1: So