United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee

on Health, Committee on Ways and

Means, House of Representatives

December 1994 FUGITIVES

U.S. Efforts to Find

Miguel Recarey

GAO/OSI-95-7

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Office of Special Investigations

B-259512 

December 21, 1994

The Honorable Fortney H. (Pete) Stark

Chairman, Subcommittee on Health

Committee on Ways and Means

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

This report responds to your July 13, 1992, request that we look into the

U.S. government’s handling of the Miguel G. Recarey, Jr., fugitive case.

Specifically, you asked that we determine (1) whether the Departments of

Justice and State had made good-faith efforts to locate and gain custody of

Mr. Recarey, (2) whether Department of Justice officials contacted the

government of Venezuela on this issue, (3) whether the Venezuelan

government told the U.S. government that it had tried to find Mr. Recarey,

and (4) whether the U.S. government followed standard operating

procedures to locate and gain custody of Mr. Recarey.

Background In October 1987, Miguel G. Recarey, Jr., former President and Chairman of

the Board of International Medical Centers, Inc., failed to appear for a

hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami

on charges of bribing an officer of an employee welfare fund; bribing a

potential federal grand jury witness; and illegal wiretapping. Mr. Recarey

was also indicted, in February 1988, on charges of conspiracy to defraud

the United States; obtaining by fraud and misapplying U.S. government

funds; wire fraud; and false statements concerning Medicare payments

received by International Medical Centers, Inc. In October 1987, Mr.

Recarey fled the United States, beginning an international fugitive

investigative effort covering at least 3 continents and 11 countries.

Summary of OSI

Investigation

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. government’s efforts to locate

and gain custody of Miguel Recarey. The Departments of Justice and State

declined, at the insistence of the Department of Justice, to provide us

access to all necessary files because the U.S. government’s investigation

was ongoing. Thus, we could not determine whether the Departments of

Justice and State followed standard operating procedures in this matter.

From the information available to us, it appears that the Departments of

Justice and State made good-faith efforts to locate and gain custody of

Miguel Recarey. However, in view of information indicating that Mr.

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B-259512 

Recarey was outside the United States, we question the Federal Bureau of

Investigation’s (FBI) decision not to request a “Red Notice” from the

International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). Red Notices help

foreign law enforcement officials identify and locate fugitives1

 and are also

considered by many countries as authority to detain wanted persons.

As the lead investigative agency in this fugitive matter, the FBI’s effort was

continuous, culminating in Mr. Recarey’s capture by the Spanish police on

October 6, 1993, in Madrid, Spain. As of November 1994, the Spanish Court

had not decided whether to honor the U.S. government’s request for Mr.

Recarey’s extradition to the United States.

Also, the Department of State’s Office of Law Enforcement and

Intelligence took appropriate steps in responding to requests for

assistance made by the Department of Justice in this matter. Our review of

Department of State documents on communications between the U.S.

government and the government of Venezuela indicates that the

Departments of State and Justice contacted the government of Venezuela

on the Recarey matter. The Venezuelan government responded to the

inquiries and informed the U.S. government that it would endeavor to be

of assistance.

Information we received showed that Mr. Recarey may have used his

influence with some Venezuelan government officials to avoid detention

and arrest. The principal difficulties encountered by U.S. government law

enforcement agencies in locating and gaining custody of Mr. Recarey were

associated with his apparent ability to bribe foreign government officials

and circulate incorrect information in attempts to confuse and mislead

agents in their pursuit of leads.

FBI Efforts to Locate

and Gain Custody of

Recarey

The FBI’s Miami Division led the Recarey fugitive investigation, and FBI

legal attachés working in five different foreign locations were involved at

various times during the course of the investigation. Other FBI units that

participated in the case were the White Collar Crime Section, Criminal

Investigative Division; the Violent Crimes-Fugitive Unit of the Violent

Crimes and Major Offenders Section, Criminal Investigative Division, FBI

Headquarters; and the Office of Liaison and International Affairs.

1

See INTERPOL: Information on the Red Notice System (GAO/IMTEC-93-23, Mar. 29, 1993) for further

information concerning Red Notices.

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The FBI developed or received hundreds of investigative leads over the

6-year period that Mr. Recarey was a fugitive. According to the FBI case

agent, each lead was evaluated and followed up, where warranted; but

most leads did not produce positive results. Federal law enforcement

agencies requested information or assistance from officials in at least 11

countries in tracking down investigative leads. These requests included

information or queries about Mr. Recarey’s physical location, movements

and travel by Mr. Recarey or family members, modes of transportation,

financial interests and assets, business associates, and personal

relationships.

The FBI did not request a Red Notice from INTERPOL, although the FBI had

information indicating that Mr. Recarey was traveling outside the United

States. FBI headquarters officials told us that decisions on whether to

request a Red Notice are initiated at the field office level. The FBI had

coordinated with INTERPOL-U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB) and relied

on the FBI’s legal attaché system to affect liaison with INTERPOL and foreign

police agencies in this fugitive case. However, the use of a Red Notice can

increase the possibility of locating and apprehending fugitives because it

systematically provides information, such as the fugitive’s identity and

pending criminal charges, to all INTERPOL member countries. The

information can be incorporated into each country’s border-lookout

system so that when a fugitive, such as Mr. Recarey, seeks admission to

another country, the fugitive can be stopped at the point of entry.

For several months following Mr. Recarey’s flight from justice, the FBI

worked on investigative leads that suggested Mr. Recarey might be in one

or more countries. By the summer of 1988, the FBI had received sufficient

information indicating Mr. Recarey was living openly in Caracas,

Venezuela. The FBI made a request to the Venezuelan government, through

the Departments of Justice and State, for Mr. Recarey’s provisional arrest2

in anticipation of his extradition to the United States. After receiving

assurances from the Venezuelan government that Mr. Recarey would be

arrested, the FBI sent two agents to Caracas in October 1988 to coordinate

the capture. However, Mr. Recarey was not arrested because, according to

the FBI, Venezuelan officials said that they could not find him.

In 1989 and 1990, following investigative leads relating to Mr. Recarey’s

business ventures, the FBI again developed information that placed Mr.

Recarey in Venezuela. Twice more, FBI agents traveled to Caracas to aid in

2

A provisional arrest is the immediate arrest of a fugitive to prevent further flight while documents and

evidence in support of a formal request for extradition are prepared.

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B-259512 

locating and capturing Mr. Recarey—again he could not be found. The FBI

later heard from sources that Mr. Recarey was able to bribe high-level

foreign security officials to provide him advance warning and protection

against U.S. government efforts to have him deported or extradited.

In late 1991, the FBI received information that indicated Mr. Recarey had

left Venezuela and moved to Spain. In January 1992, after corroborating

the information, the FBI requested that the Department of State ask the

Spanish government to arrest and detain Mr. Recarey for extradition to the

United States. However, Spanish government officials responded that they

did not believe they had sufficient evidence of Mr. Recarey’s presence in

Spain.

During our work, we obtained new information from confidential sources

concerning Mr. Recarey’s whereabouts and movements. We shared this

information with the FBI. Shortly thereafter, FBI special agents pinpointed

Mr. Recarey’s location and convinced Spanish authorities of his presence

in Spain. On October 6, 1993, the Spanish police arrested Mr. Recarey in

Madrid, Spain. The FBI case agent in the Miami Division assisted the U.S.

Attorney’s Office and U.S. Embassy officials to have Mr. Recarey

extradited from Spain to the United States. On November 10, 1994, Mr.

Recarey was released from a Spanish jail under court supervision. A

Department of Justice official told us that the U.S. government is

continuing with extradition efforts and anticipates a decision by the

Spanish Court on the U.S. government’s extradition request before the end

of 1994.

Other Organizations

Who Assisted in

Recarey’s Capture

The Recarey matter was a multiagency investigation, with the FBI having

primary responsibility for locating and gaining custody of Mr. Recarey.

Other organizations that participated included the U.S. Attorney’s Office

for the Southern District of Florida; Miami Organized Crime Strike Force;

U.S. Marshals Service; Office of International Affairs (OIA), Criminal

Division, Department of Justice; Drug Enforcement Administration;

INTERPOL-USNCB; Office of Labor Racketeering, Office of Inspector General,

U.S. Department of Labor; and Department of State’s Office of Law

Enforcement and Intelligence and Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

OIA supported two separate requests by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami

and the FBI to assist with formal requests to foreign governments for

provisional arrest pending extradition. OIA attorneys continue to assist U.S.

efforts in gaining custody of Mr. Recarey. The Department of Justice

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B-259512 

recently established a new group within OIA to focus on significant and

well-known U.S. fugitives, such as Mr. Recarey, and foreign fugitives.

The Department of State’s Office of Law Enforcement and Intelligence

coordinated U.S. government requests for provisional arrest pending

extradition of Mr. Recarey from Venezuela and from Spain. Finally,

Regional Security Officers from the Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic

Security also helped the FBI in this matter.

Methodology We interviewed individuals who had information about the investigation,

including officials from the OIA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, INTERPOL-USNCB,

and Department of State. We also interviewed former and current officials

working for federal law enforcement agencies involved in the Recarey

matter, state and local law enforcement officials, and other persons having

relevant information about Mr. Recarey or the fugitive investigation.

OIA gave us a chronology, listing significant events in the Recarey fugitive

case. The FBI provided written responses to our questions about its

handling of the case. At the Department of State, we reviewed Office of

Law Enforcement and Intelligence files that the Department of State

identified as relevant to the Recarey fugitive matter.

As arranged with your office, we will make this report available to others

upon request. If you have questions concerning this report, please contact

me or Assistant Director Barney Gomez of my staff on (202) 512-6722.

Sincerely yours,

Richard C. Stiener

Director

(600263) Page 5 GAO/OSI-95-7 U.S. Efforts to Find Miguel Recarey
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