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25792: Hermantin(news) Federal jury convicts man in Haiti cocaine-smuggling case (fwd)
From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>
Sun Sentinel
Federal jury convicts man in Haiti cocaine-smuggling case
By Akilah Johnson
Staff Writer
July 22, 2005
A federal jury convicted a man Thursday of conspiring to smuggle millions of
dollars worth of Colombian cocaine into the United States through Haiti, the
U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Serge Edouard, 43, also was found guilty of money laundering for paying
corrupt, high-ranking officials to protect his business, federal authorities
said. He faces life in prison when sentenced Sept. 29.
From 1998 to 2004, Edouard headed the large-scale operation responsible for
sneaking thousands of pounds of cocaine into Miami and New York, prosecutors
said. Starting in 2000, he began working with American Airlines security
director Stephanie Ambroise in Port-au-Prince to ship over two to three loads a
month, court documents said.
Suitcases packed with cocaine were delivered to Ambroise's husband the night
before a flight departed, the documents said. She attached numbered shipping
tags to the bags, gave the tag numbers to an airport worker who then loaded the
bags onto the flights, according to court documents.
The drugs would be sold in the United States and the money sent back to Haiti,
where Edouard laundered it, federal authorities said.
According to court documents, the former Port-au-Prince airport commander and
former Haitian anti-drug chief were part of the organization. Both were
indicted on cocaine-conspiracy charges, as was Ambroise.
Also indicted was the former Haitian National Police Cmdr. Rudy Therassan and
former palace police chief Oriel Jean. Jean testified that Edouard paid $40,000
for a security badge to help him travel freely without being searched by
police.
Jean, 40, recently pleaded guilty to a money-laundering conspiracy charge and
testified against Edouard before being sentenced.
Therassan was sentenced to almost 15 years in prison last week after pleading
guilty in April to drug and money laundering charges, though his sentence was
reduced by five years for cooperating with prosecutors.
Edouard was convicted of nine counts of money laundering, conspiring to commit
money laundering and conspiring to import more than 5 kilos of cocaine. Besides
life in prison, Edouard faces the forfeiture of up to $15 million in assets
when sentenced. More than $5 million has already been seized.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4631.
Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel