Opinion ID: 409612
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Evidence at the EL COBRE Trial

Text: 14 At the EL COBRE trial, Troutwein testified as follows: He first met Kalish on August 7, 1979. Kalish was introduced to him as Steven Kay by two other men whom Troutwein suspected of marijuana smuggling. Kalish and his companions were interested in leasing a shrimp boat owned by Troutwein's boss, Robert Brushingham, the owner of the marina. The shrimp boat was located at a different dock in downtown Freeport. Troutwein agreed to take Kalish to see the boat. The two travelled alone. During the ride, Kalish told Troutwein that he made a lot of money in the smuggling business. After the two arrived at the dock and boarded the shrimp boat, Kalish commented on the boat's marijuana-hauling capacity. 15 The next day, Kalish arrived at the marina with two different men whom he introduced to Troutwein as Peaches and Doc. 3 Kalish asked Troutwein to allow Peaches and Doc to spend their nights at the marina conducting surveillance. Peaches and Doc spent about 10 consecutive weeknights at the marina, making logs of the nightly traffic along the waterway. 16 Officer Weaver corroborated Troutwein's testimony that Kalish had been present at the marina in August 1979. On August 7 or 8, Troutwein introduced Kalish to Weaver. Kalish asked if Weaver would take him for a ride on the speedboat at a later date. Weaver agreed. A few days later, Weaver took Kalish and Troutwein for a ride. During the ride, Kalish told Weaver that he might need to use the boat at a later date in an errand-running capacity. 17 Troutwein testified that, after these two or three meetings in August, he had no further contact with Kalish until December 6, 1979. On that day, Kalish approached Troutwein while he was working on the marina's fuel dock. Kalish gave Troutwein $1,000 in $100 bills, told Troutwein that he was making arrangements for a load, and said that he would return in a few days to discuss unloading there at the marina. 18 Kalish returned to the marina on December 8. He offered Troutwein $50,000 for letting him unload at the marina. Kalish told Troutwein that the unloading would take place relatively soon. 19 On the morning of December 10, Kalish came into Troutwein's office at the marina. Four persons accompanied him: Bill Boren, a pilot, and two other persons whom Troutwein could not identify. Kalish told Troutwein that he needed a boat to send his companions out to meet a shrimp boat. Troutwein suggested that Kalish telephone Weaver to ask about leasing Weaver's speedboat. The call was made. Weaver corroborated this testimony, testifying that Kalish asked him whether he would lease the speedboat for an errand. Weaver told Kalish that the boat needed repairs. 20 After the phone call, Troutwein told Kalish that he had a single boat available, the MISS CLARA, but that if Kalish wanted to use it he would have to buy it for $35,000. Kalish reluctantly agreed, giving Troutwein $5,000 and telling him he could pick up the balance that day in Houston. Then Kalish's four companions went out to sea in the MISS CLARA. 21 Troutwein testified that Kalish remained at the marina for a time and that the two of them had another meeting with other people, including Bud Stockton and Judd McCormick. 4 For reasons that will become clear below, Troutwein was asked not to testify to the substance of this conversation. Afterwards, Troutwein followed Kalish to Houston in Bill Boren's car. In Houston, Kalish gave Troutwein another $15,000 for the MISS CLARA. 22 Meanwhile, Weaver had alerted his task force about the voyage of the MISS CLARA. Aerial surveillance teams observed the MISS CLARA rendezvous with the shrimp boat EL COBRE. After the MISS CLARA departed, the EL COBRE was stopped and boarded; officers found 40,000 pounds of marijuana and a four-member crew. One of the crew was Bill Boren. These four became Kalish's four co-indictees in the EL COBRE case. 23 When Troutwein returned to the marina from Houston, he found the crew of the MISS CLARA waiting to use Bill Boren's car. Troutwein noticed that Boren was no longer among them; he had been replaced by a Latin-looking individual. The four left in Boren's car and were never apprehended. 24 Despite Troutwein's story and Weaver's circumstantial corroboration of that story, a jury found Kalish not guilty of the EL COBRE charges.