-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.12/pageone.html <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.12/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 12</A> ----- The Laissez Faire City Times March 22, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 12 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CIA-DOJ Collusion in Drug-Trafficking Coverup? by Uri Dowbenko Despite documented evidence by government whistleblowers, the US Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Justice have never been held accountable for their collusion in, or acquiescence to, to drug trafficking. On March 15, 1999, however, class action lawsuits were filed by attorneys Katya Komisaruk, William M. Simpich and Kenneth Frucht on behalf of Rosemary Lyons and Olivia Woods in Northern California and Donna J. Warren and Berlina M. Doss in Southern California (Case No. 99-02603). The suit names the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Justice, Estate of William Casey, Robert Gates, John Deutch, George Tenet, Estate of William French Smith, Edwin Meese, Richard Thornburgh, Janet Reno and others as defendants, alleging that these US Government agencies and employees were responsible for the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic and the resulting social and economic devastation of inner city communities. According to the Statement of Facts, "on March 16, 1998, CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz appeared before the House Intelligence Committee to report on his investigation of the CIA, the Contras and crack cocaine. Hitz testified that beginning in 1982, the CIA entered into an undisclosed agreement with the Department of Justice, allowing CIA officers to refrain from reporting drug trafficking by its "agents, assets and non-staff employees." Hitz admitted that "there are instances where the CIA did not in an expeditious or consistent fashion, cut off relationships with individuals supporting the Contra program who were alleged to have engaged in drug trafficking activity, or take action to resolve the allegation." When asked by Congressman Norman Dicks of Washington, "Did any of these allegations involve trafficking in the United States?" Hitz's answer was "yes." Hitz acknowledged that the CIA knew of drug trafficking allegations "regarding dozens of individuals and a number of companies connected in some fashion to the Contra program or the Contra movement." Hitz recounts in Volume II of the Inspector General's Report dated 10/9/98 that through the secret agreement, the CIA and DOJ attempted to exempt the CIA from reporting about the drug trafficking of persons "employed by, assigned to, or acting for an agency within the intelligence community." Since the CIA itself admitted to having knowledge of its own "assets" being involved in illegal activities, the argument seems to be indisputable. Government Agencies Violate Federal Statutes "Plaintiff claims that the CIA/DoJ agreement violated a federal statute, 28USC 535," the lawsuit alleges, "which imposes a duty on every department and agency in the Executive Branch to report promptly to the Attorney General any information, allegations or complaints relating to possible violations of [criminal law] by officers and employees of the government." In other words, if federal agency employees are aware of violations, these must also be reported. There is another category of criminal code violation called misprision of felony, which refers to the offense of concealing knowledge of a felony by one who has not participated in it. CIA officials could be charged with this as well. "The private CIA/DoJ agreement attempted to get around this federal law by redefining the term 'employee' to mean only full time career officials -- as opposed to persons 'employed by, assigned to, or acting for an agency within the intelligence community.' In addition, the secret agreement violated Executive Order 12333 issued in 1981, which required the reporting of drug crimes." The suit also states that the 1989 Kerry Report ("Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy") made specific findings that "drug trafficking had pervaded the entire Contra war effort, that 'one or another agency of the US Government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring or immediately after' and that 'senior policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems.'" A Little History, Please "In the opening phase of the crack cocaine epidemic, between 1982 and 1986, CIA officers and other intelligence agencies received reports regarding Bay Area cocaine importers Norman Meneses and Danilo Blandon," the lawsuit alleges. "Both of these men were among the primary importers in the United States and dominated the market on the West Coast. Because of the secret CIA/DoJ agreement which purported to exempt the CIA from having to report drug crimes, cocaine suppliers connected with the Contras or other US covert operations were able to import their 'unregulated product' under the cloak of national security." "Meneses and Blandon funneled vast quantities of cocaine, at a price far lower than other suppliers, to 'Freeway Rick' Ross, who proceeded to flood South Central Los Angeles with a new low-cost product dubbed 'crack.' By 1984, Ross was selling 150 kilograms of cocaine every week, enough to put 3,000,000 doses of crack on L.A.'s streets, every seven days." "The crack cocaine epidemic enveloped Los Angeles between 1982 and 1986. Government documents show that the CIA and DoJ knew or should have known of the massive importations by Meneses, Blandon and other cocaine supplying operations," the lawsuit continues. "Common sense and a review of the news coverage for that period indicate that these agencies knew or should have known that their ongoing policy of deliberate silence allowed the crack epidemic to rage unchecked. The CIA turned its back while shipment after shipment of this new, intensely addictive form of cocaine was delivered to one of Ross's five cookhouses and then put up for sale throughout South Central Los Angeles and Compton. The result was the death of men, women and children, the collapse of businessess and the destruction of whole neighborhoods." "Once the initial Southern California market was glutted, crack moved north. Mid-level dealers diverted the flow to other African-American communities in California such as East Palo Alto, San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond. The consequences to these communities, in terms of loss of life, family structure and economic power continue to this day." The lawsuit categorized two classes of plaintiffs -- (A) inner city residents of Northern and Southern California (Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo counties) "largely African American, who experienced particular economic, physical and or emotional injuries arising from the neighborhoods hardest hit by the crack cocaine epidemic, such as addictions to crack, death or absence of loved ones due to drug related crimes, reduction of income and increase in the number of dependents," and (B) "residents of the metropolitan areas of the counties listed above who experienced injuries suffered by the community as a whole, such as lack of safety, overburdened social services, loss of local businesses and damage to the tax base." CIA/DOJ Liable for Crack Epidemic According to the lawsuit's Theory of Causation, "the signatories of the CIA/DoJ secret agreement -- Attorney General William French Smith and CIA Director William Casey -- and their successors, agencies and agents are legally liable for the pipeline of crack cocaine which inundated California urban centers from 1982 to 1986, and for the after-effects which continue to the present day." "Smith, Casey, their successors and their agents knew or should have known that failing to report drug crimes would interfere with law enforcement agencies' efforts to halt the importations of cocaine," the lawsuit continues, "and that this would ultimately result in a 'crack epidemic' involving addiction, death, increased crime, higher taxes, exhaustion of social services and destruction of businesses. The outcome followed the well-known pattern of opium in China and heroin in the United States which similarly devastated low-income urban communities." "The proof of the harm which ensued is based on official statistical evidence from city and county budgets, public health departments, hospitals, police departments, courts and jails. In addition, individual plaintiffs and witnesses will testify concerning the injuries they sustained due to the crack epidemic." This class action suit against the CIA demands a jury trial and no specific dollar amount for damages, but certainly "money to rebuild the community and to fund drug treatment." "To a large degree, we tried to take it [the lawsuit] verbatim from government docs," says one of the lead attorneys, Bill Simpich of Oakland, California, in a recent telephone interview. "We're trying to use this case as a floor," he continues, "so we can start with this very stark premise -- the CIA had a written agreement with the DoJ starting in 1982 that they did not have to report drug trafficking." "The critical issue here is the admission that they had a written policy to not report, and then 'let the chips fall where they may.' They can offer any explanation they want -- and none of them are good." Judicial activist Michael C. Ruppert (http://www.copvcia.com) was instrumental in getting the lawsuit off the ground. Also for the record, the late US Army Colonel Al Carone, a CIA operative, has stated in a sworn affidavit -- part of a lawsuit against CIA by former Green Beret William Tyree -- that "at the CIA there were a few people in the right positions who blamed the decline of American culture on people of color living in the United States. The blame of the fall of American culture began with the creation of the National Security Memorandum 200 which stated among other things the concern of overpopulation in the United States. Many at the CIA attributed it to the birthrate among people of color, and there were some at the CIA that felt that physical slavery could be replaced by pharmaceutical slavery, and that's why African-American gangs, i.e. 'Bloods' and 'Crips,' were singled out for distributing the drugs brought into the United States by the CIA." Meanwhile, since the Big Media Cartel continues to ignore the story, books by whistleblowers documenting CIA drug trafficking and coverup have become a veritable American industry. These include: �CIA: Cocaine in America, by Kenneth Bucchi (1994), SPI Books, 136 West 22nd St., New York 10011 �Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War, by Celerino Castillo and Dave Harmon (1994), Mosaic Press, 85 River Rock Dr., Suite 202, Buffalo, NY 14207 �Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press, by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair (1998), Verso, 180 Varrick St, New York, NY 10014 �Drugs & US Government Agencies (video), by Bob Fletcher, World News Insight. 10061 Riverside Dr., N. Hollywood, CA 91602, 800-729-4131 �Drug Smuggling, by Ted Gunderson, Gunderson International, PO Box 18000-259, Las Vegas, Nevada 89114 �The Big White Lie: The CIA and the Cocaine Crack Epidemic, by Michael Levine (1993), Thunder's Mouth Press, 632 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York 10012 �Compromised: Clinton Bush and the CIA -- How the Presidency Was Co-Opted by the CIA, by Terry Reed and John Cummmings, (1994) SPI Books, 136 West 22nd St., New York, NY 10011 Defrauding America: Encyclopedia of Secret Operations by the CIA, DEA and Other Covert Agencies, Third Edition, by Rodney Stich (1998), Diablo Western Press, PO Box 5, Alamo, CA 94507, 800-247-7389, http://www.defraudingamerica.com �Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, by Gary Webb (1998), Seven Stories Press, 140 Watts St., New York, NY 10013 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Uri Dowbenko is the CEO of New Improved Entertainment Corp. He can be reached by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol. 3, No. 12, March 22, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by Laissez Faire City Netcasting Group, Inc. Copyright 1998 - Trademark Registered with LFC Public Registrar All Rights Reserved Disclaimer The Laissez Faire City Times is a private newspaper. Although it is published by a corporation domiciled within the sovereign domain of Laissez Faire City, it is not an "official organ" of the city or its founding trust. Just as the New York Times is unaffiliated with the city of New York, the City Times is only one of what may be several news publications located in, or domiciled at, Laissez Faire City proper. For information about LFC, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. 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