Opinion ID: 455772
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Telex

Text: 44 On December 17, 1982, the DEA office in Miami sent a telex to the DEA office in Columbia, South Carolina relating information it had received concerning this investigation. The sources of the information are not indicated in the telex. In brief, the telex stated that Leo Rosquette, a DEA fugitive, was planning to smuggle 900 pounds of cocaine by aircraft to an airfield controlled by Love near Columbia, South Carolina. The plane to be used was N3234D, then located at Southern Aero Traders in Opa Locka, Florida. The telex indicated that the plane was having long-range fuel tanks installed and would be ready to fly to South America on December 19, 1982. The telex also stated that Garrett Clark, another DEA fugitive was tentatively scheduled to be the pilot. 45 Lee contends that the district court's refusal to both admit the telex in evidence and allow full cross-examination concerning its contents was reversible error. We disagree. Regardless of the propriety of the trial court's decision, the error, if any, can only be considered harmless given the overwhelming evidence in the record implicating Lee and contradicting the tentative identification of Clark as the pilot in the telex. 14