Opinion ID: 705158
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The nature of the conspiracy

Text: 2 This case arises out of a large scale conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana, cocaine, and hash oil. Michael Knowles, James Squires and Daniel Wright were indicted along with 23 others for various violations of Title 21 of the United States Code, including conspiracy to import, possess and distribute controlled substances, as well as numerous substantive violations. 1 These three individuals were tried together, and evidence at their trial established the following: 3 Beginning during the mid-1970s, a group of individuals including the brothers Kennie and Tico Rodriguez, Mario and Jimmy Controneo, and others formed agreements to obtain large amounts of controlled substances including marijuana and cocaine from various countries in and around the Caribbean to be distributed inside the United States and Canada. During the next several years, these individuals recruited boat captains and crew, airplane pilots, off-loaders and truck drivers to carry out the goals of the criminal organization. On many occasions, the organization used private vessels to import large loads of marijuana and other controlled substances. 4 At first, these vessels departed from and returned to one of several private ocean access waterfront homes in Southeastern Florida. The group soon established a second base of operations on the Western coast of Florida, including at least one ocean-access waterfront home in Ft. Myers, and another in Destin. Upon successful transport into one of these ports, the boats would be unloaded by crews who weighed the contraband and loaded it onto transport vehicles equipped with hidden compartments for shipment to buyers in the Northeastern United States and Canada. The organization operated successfully and undetected by law enforcement for years. Overall, the group was responsible for the importation and distribution of approximately 100,000 pounds of marijuana, 10,000 pounds of cocaine, and several hundred pounds of hash oil. 5 In approximately 1984 or 1985, Tico Rodriguez recruited Daniel Hamm to captain vessels in several smuggling ventures. Initially, Hamm captained a boat known as the Becky Ann. According to the plan, Hamm, along with a crew consisting of Debbie Behmer and Mike Russell, were to take the boat from South Florida to the Bahamas, then to Jamaica where the boat would be loaded with drugs. From there the boat was to be taken to Cozumel, Mexico, and then to Destin, where the boat would be unloaded. Prior to the departure and pursuant to Tico's direction, Hamm and another individual matching the description of James Squires traveled to Destin to inspect the harbor and dock. Although the smuggling venture was completed without significant incident, the complaints about the boat voiced by the captain and crew caused Tico to arrange for a replacement. Tico arranged for Hamm to use Terry Fitzwater's boat, the Suntimes. With Hamm as captain, the Suntimes brought in four additional loads of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of marijuana into the Destin area. 6 Meanwhile, the Becky Ann was provided to James Squires and Daniel Wright, who had the boat transported to Ft. Myers by two of the group's smuggling captains, Bill Adams and John Rock. Wright assisted Adams and Rock in transporting the boat. According to Rock, John West, a/k/a James Squires, lived at the house in Ft. Myers to which the boat was transported. 7 Meanwhile, Kennie Rodriguez arranged for the purchase of another sailboat, the Freeflight. This boat too was outfitted with hidden compartments with a capacity of approximately 3,000 pounds for smuggling drugs. Thereafter, Rodriguez and Fitzwater ran several successful smuggling loads on Freeflight. 8 The Rodriguez brothers also procured another vessel, a large motor boat named the Olives. This was a 52-foot cabin cruiser with a single hidden compartment capable of concealing 6,000 to 8,000 pounds of contraband. Archie Jones and Wolfgang Petrasko were recruited to captain several loads of controlled substances on the Olives. 9 In May, 1986, Jones captained one of his two smuggling ventures aboard the Olives. Jones took the vessel first to Puerto Rico, and then to Jamaica where it picked up approximately 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of marijuana, which was ultimately off-loaded in Ft. Myers. Jones later purchased the Olives and, during late 1987, returned the Olives to South Florida with a load of approximately 600 pounds of cocaine. 10 The group suffered a significant setback in early 1987 when three of the group's sailboats embarked on smuggling ventures at approximately the same time. These vessels were the Freeflight, Mad Dog II, and the Suntimes. Each of these boats traveled from Florida to Jamaica, where they were loaded with several thousand pounds of marijuana, without incident. However, in January 1987, during a stop-over in the Cayman Islands on its way back to the United States, Mad Dog II was seized and its crew arrested by Cayman law enforcement officers for carrying marijuana. The captain and crew, Michael Russell, Daniel Fedorka, and Debbie Behmer, cooperated and, as a result, the other two boats were targeted and eventually seized as well.