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| Department of Justice |
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U.S. Government | The Department of Justice launched an internal inquiry in 1993 into CIA involvement with The Finders and a potential FBI coverup of the group's operations. The inquiry was initiated after the Department received a copy of the U.S. | 1870 | Washington, D.C. |
The Department of Justice launched an internal inquiry in 1993 into CIA involvement with The Finders and a potential FBI coverup of the group's operations. The inquiry was initiated after the Department received a copy of the U.S. Customs memo compiled by Special Agent Ramon J. Martinez on the raids of The Finders properties in February 1987.1
The inquiry focused on multiple intelligence connections: Marion Pettie's late wife Isabelle Pettie had been a CIA employee, one of his sons had worked for Air America, and Future Enterprises had provided software training for CIA employees. The investigation's findings were not publicly released in full.1
Dark Alliance Investigation
In early 1982, CIA director William J. Casey and Attorney General William French Smith signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding that exempted the Central Intelligence Agency from reporting drug crimes committed by its non-employees, including agents, assets, and non-staff employees. Drug offenses were specifically removed from the list of crimes the CIA was required to report. The agreement remained in effect from 1982 to 1995. CIA Inspector General Fred Hitz testified that "the period of 1982 to 1995 was one in which there was no official requirement to report on allegations of drug trafficking with respect to non-employees of the agency."2
Protection of Danilo Blandón
The Justice Department accorded Danilo Blandon extraordinary treatment, reducing his sentence from life to approximately twenty-eight months, dropping charges against his wife Chepita Blandon, and releasing him as a full-time paid informant. Assistant U.S. Attorney LJ Oneale filed motions to have Blandón's sentence secretly reduced twice.3
O'Neale prosecuted Ricky Ross in San Diego, filing a motion to prevent any mention of the CIA at trial, writing: "This matter, if true, would be classified." O'Neale admitted he had never checked with the CIA about Blandón's connections but insisted there was "absolutely no connection" between Blandón and the agency.4
Footnotes
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Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar. ↩︎
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Epilogue: "The damage that has been done" ↩︎
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 24: "They're gonna forget I was a drug dealer" ↩︎
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 26: "That matter, if true, would be classified" ↩︎