21888: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Former top cop in Haiti faces U.S. drug charge (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Former top cop in Haiti faces U.S. drug charge



By Ann W. O'Neill
Staff Writer

May 15, 2004

The one-time commander of the Haitian National Police Brigade was arrested
Friday in Miami on a drug charge, the latest government official caught in a
federal investigation of cocaine and corruption under former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Papers filed in federal court in Miami identified the official as Rudy
Therassan, who headed the Haitian national police from 2001 until last
August.

The U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed the arrest, saying Therassan was taken
into custody on a warrant after the Florida Highway Patrol pulled him over
on the Palmetto Expressway.

Therassan, 39, who according to property records owns an expensive home in
Wellington, will be held in jail until he can be formally charged Monday
before a federal magistrate in Miami with a single count of conspiracy to
import cocaine into the United States. He is the second high-ranking Haitian
law enforcement officer arrested for drug trafficking since Aristide left
the country in February.

Bush administration and U.S. Justice Department officials have said publicly
that authorities in Miami are looking into whether Aristide, once a populist
priest, was corrupted by drug money. Carlos Castillo, a spokesman for the
U.S. Attorney's office in Miami, declined comment on whether Therassan's
arrest might bring prosecutors a step closer to Aristide.

Ira Kurzban, a Miami lawyer who represents Aristide, has denied the former
president had any dealings with drug traffickers.

An affidavit supporting Therassan's arrest describes the scope of the DEA
investigation "into the activities of drug traffickers who utilize Haiti as
a transshipment point for sending and receiving controlled substances and
illegal proceeds" between Colombia and the United States.

According to the affidavit by DEA agent Noble Harrison, four confidential
sources helped Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weinstein build a case by
linking Therassan to cocaine trafficking, protection payoffs, and the
Haitian government-ordered murder of drug lord Hector Ketant.

The informants include a Haitian convicted in Miami for cocaine trafficking
and money laundering and another high-ranking Haitian police official
awaiting trial on a federal drug charge. Detailed descriptions of the
informants contained in the affidavit closely resemble former Aristide
security chief Oriel Jean and Hector Ketant's brother, high-living Haitian
drug lord Beaudouin "Jacques" Ketant, who was indicted in 1997 and accused
of moving 15 tons of cocaine through Haiti.

Jean, 39, was one of Aristide's most trusted aides. He was arrested in
Toronto, brought to Miami, and charged with drug trafficking in March.

Ketant was sentenced in February to 27 years in prison for drug trafficking
and money laundering and fined $15 million. He has been cooperating, hoping
to shave years off his sentence.

At his sentencing hearing, Ketant launched an angry tirade, accusing
Aristide of being his partner in the drug business before betraying him to
the DEA. Ketant also blamed Aristide and the Haitian government for his
brother's murder.

The affidavit states that Hector Ketant was paying Therassan to protect his
cocaine loads and the two became embroiled in a dispute over price.

One informant, who said he was present, told authorities he saw Therassan
shoot Hector Ketant to death, the affidavit said.

Another informant said the Haitian government ordered Therassan to kill
Ketant in February 2003. The informant added that Therassan stated he'd
taken a list of Haitian government officials assisting Ketant's drug
operation from the dead man's pocket.

Later, the affidavit stated, Therassan lied to DEA agents about the
shooting. He claimed Hector Ketant reached for a gun when police arrived at
his house in Port-au-Prince to arrest him. According to the affidavit,
"Therassan stated that due to this action, Therassan and other police
officers in self-defense shot and killed Ketant."

Ann W. O'Neill can be reached at awoneill@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4531.


Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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