"U.S. air marshals face smuggling charges"

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Air marshals face smuggling charges
Pair arrested after allegedly agreeing to transport cocaine
By Kelli Arena and Kevin Bohn
Cable News Network (CNN)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two federal air marshals are facing drug charges after
allegedly agreeing to smuggle cocaine from a man who turned out to be a
government witness, the U.S. attorney's office in Houston, Texas, announced
Monday.

Shawn Ray Nguyen, 38, and Burlie Sholar, 32, were arrested Thursday after
allegedly receiving 15 kilograms of cocaine and $15,000 cash delivered to
Nguyen's home and agreeing to take the drugs on a plane, prosecutors said in
court papers.

The U.S. attorney's office accused the two men of agreeing to use their
official positions as federal air marshals to bypass airport security and
smuggle the cocaine on board a flight from Houston to Las Vegas, Nevada, in
exchange for the money.

The two men made an initial appearance in federal court Monday afternoon and
will have a detention hearing before Thursday morning, where bail will be
discussed. 

"The alleged conduct of these two men is serious and disturbing," the
inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, Richard Skinner,
said in a press release. 

"We remain committed to working with our internal and external partners to
aggressively investigate all allegations of corruption to protect the
integrity of the Department of Homeland Security personnel, programs and
operations."

Kent Schaffer, a lawyer for Nguyen, said his client will be pleading not
guilty at Thursday's hearing.

"The charges are serious, but we believe he should be released on bond,"
Schaffer said. He added that Nguyen has "a history of service to this
country."

Sholar had not retained a lawyer Monday, according to prosecutors. He is
supposed to appear in court briefly on Wednesday to identify his attorney.

Authorities said the inspector general's office began an investigation into
alleged drug trafficking by Nguyen in late 2005 after receiving information
from a witness that he had been involved in selling drugs, according to a
criminal complaint.

In addition to the cocaine delivered last week, a December 21 incident is
also detailed by prosecutors in the criminal complaint. In that incident,
they allege, Nguyen bypassed airport security with a package containing
$25,000 in narcotics proceeds and fraudulent government documents.

Nguyen and Sholar are charged with conspiring to use their positions to
smuggle the cocaine in exchange for approximately $4,500 per kilogram.

Upon conviction, the charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine carries a mandatory minimum prison
sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life.

Federal Air Marshals Service spokesman Dave Adams said Nguyen and Sholar had
been with the service since 2002 and a decision on their employment status
is pending.

The number of marshals is classified, but in 2003, then-Homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge told CNN there were several thousand agents.

On September 11, 2001, there were 33 marshals, and they flew only on
international flights. After the attacks on Washington and New York, the
Federal Aviation Administration buttressed the program with hundreds of
officers borrowed from other federal agencies and started a massive hiring
effort.

The Air Marshal Service has said that after President Bush promised to
expand the program, it received 200,000 applications. A 2004 report by the
Department of Homeland Security found problems in the background screening
given applicants. The report also cited disciplinary problems among agents.

There were also at least nine investigations into whether agents, who are
often privy to classified information, had leaked secrets to the media or
public.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************