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10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Norwin Meneses.md

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Norwin was arrested but cleared after a "rigorous and exhaustive" investigation
 
 ### Entry into the United States
 
-In 1979, the FBI office in [[Mexico City]] asked that Meneses be included in the Bureau's "top thief" program and requested an arrest warrant to prevent him from entering the United States. The U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco, citing Meneses's "political connections" in Nicaragua, refused. Despite an extensive criminal record dating to the 1960s (statutory rape, shoplifting, misuse of slot machines in San Francisco in the early 1960s; suspected murder of a money changer in 1968), Meneses entered the United States freely in early 1980, applied for political asylum, and began buying property — a used car lot, commercial buildings, a travel agency, a restaurant, and two houses in [[Pacifica, California|Pacifica]]. He drove a gray Jaguar sedan registered in his own name.[^3]
+In 1979, the FBI office in [[Mexico City]] asked that Meneses be included in the Bureau's "top thief" program and requested an arrest warrant to prevent him from entering the United States. The U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco, citing Meneses's "political connections" in Nicaragua, refused. Despite an extensive criminal record dating to the 1960s (statutory rape, shoplifting, misuse of slot machines in San Francisco in the early 1960s; suspected murder of a money changer in 1968), Meneses entered the United States freely in early 1980, applied for political asylum, and began buying property - a used car lot, commercial buildings, a travel agency, a restaurant, and two houses in [[Pacifica, California|Pacifica]]. He drove a gray Jaguar sedan registered in his own name.[^3]
 
 Meneses told the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] he met with CIA agents shortly after the Sandinista takeover to teach them how to cross Nicaragua's borders undetected.[^3]
 
@@ -91,9 +91,9 @@ Former Meneses aide Renato Peña told the Justice Department in 1997 that Menese
 
 ### Investigation and Arrest
 
-The potential exposure of Meneses in the spring of 1985 came at a devastating time for the Contras. Had he been indicted on federal cocaine trafficking charges - after all his meetings with FDN directors Adolfo Calero, Enrique Bermúdez, Edgar Chamorro, and Frank Arana—the resultant scandal would likely have wiped out what little congressional support remained. Meneses was in a position to expose the [[FDN]]'s long involvement with drug merchants and lead investigators to Danilo Blandón's operation in South Central Los Angeles. A 1998 CIA Inspector General's report confirmed that as early as 1984, the agency had information tying Meneses to a drug and arms network in Costa Rica in partnership with top Contra official [[Sebastian Gonzalez|Sebastian "Guachan" Gonzalez]]. Former assistant U.S. attorney [[Eric Swenson]] confirmed that the Justice Department knew about Meneses's Contra activities because he had personally reported them.[^6]
+The potential exposure of Meneses in the spring of 1985 came at a devastating time for the Contras. Had he been indicted on federal cocaine trafficking charges - after all his meetings with FDN directors Adolfo Calero, Enrique Bermúdez, Edgar Chamorro, and Frank Arana - the resultant scandal would likely have wiped out what little congressional support remained. Meneses was in a position to expose the [[FDN]]'s long involvement with drug merchants and lead investigators to Danilo Blandón's operation in South Central Los Angeles. A 1998 CIA Inspector General's report confirmed that as early as 1984, the agency had information tying Meneses to a drug and arms network in Costa Rica in partnership with top Contra official [[Sebastian Gonzalez|Sebastian "Guachan" Gonzalez]]. Former assistant U.S. attorney [[Eric Swenson]] confirmed that the Justice Department knew about Meneses's Contra activities because he had personally reported them.[^6]
 
-Despite one of Meneses's top lieutenants having pleaded guilty to cocaine charges and publicly implicated him, the drug lord was not prosecuted in the spring of 1985. Allowing Meneses to take the witness stand was out of the question—he knew too much. The cozy relationship between the CIA and San Francisco's U.S. attorney [[Joseph Russoniello]] coincided with the decision not to charge Meneses.[^6]
+Despite one of Meneses's top lieutenants having pleaded guilty to cocaine charges and publicly implicated him, the drug lord was not prosecuted in the spring of 1985. Allowing Meneses to take the witness stand was out of the question - he knew too much. The cozy relationship between the CIA and San Francisco's U.S. attorney [[Joseph Russoniello]] coincided with the decision not to charge Meneses.[^6]
 
 ### Volume Estimates
 
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ In 1986, San Francisco Examiner reporter [[Seth Rosenfeld]] published a front-pa
 
 ### CIA Connections
 
-Former Sandinista intelligence officer Roger Mayorga, who monitored Meneses for years, believed Meneses was actually working for the CIA in Costa Rica, using his DEA informant role as cover. "They used Meneses in Costa Rica basically for money laundering operations," Mayorga said. Meneses's brother Jaime Sr. owned a large money-changing business in San Jose, and Norwin had legitimate fronts useful for laundering cash—a restaurant across the street from the U.S. Embassy, a gambling club, and a bean processing factory with Troilo Sánchez as partner. DEA agents told the Justice Department of "having an amicable relationship with the CIA Costa Rica Station personnel."[^7]
+Former Sandinista intelligence officer Roger Mayorga, who monitored Meneses for years, believed Meneses was actually working for the CIA in Costa Rica, using his DEA informant role as cover. "They used Meneses in Costa Rica basically for money laundering operations," Mayorga said. Meneses's brother Jaime Sr. owned a large money-changing business in San Jose, and Norwin had legitimate fronts useful for laundering cash - a restaurant across the street from the U.S. Embassy, a gambling club, and a bean processing factory with Troilo Sánchez as partner. DEA agents told the Justice Department of "having an amicable relationship with the CIA Costa Rica Station personnel."[^7]
 
 In a 1988 cable to FBI headquarters, San Francisco FBI agent Donald Hale wrote: "It became apparent to the FBI that Norwin Meneses was, and may still be, an informant of the DEA. It is also believed by the FBI, SF, that Norwin Meneses was, and may still be, an informant for the Central Intelligence Agency." The CIA denies it. Meneses was paired with a veteran CIA operative who arrived from Europe, whom Meneses introduced as "Roberto." The mysterious agent played a significant role in keeping Meneses out of the FBI's clutches.[^7]