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The damage of lies (cont.) Odd lessons In a peculiar way, perjury demeans the justice system in the eyes of the people whom it punishes. David Hairabedian learned that lesson. In 1991, Hairabedian, then 24, was sentenced to prison for his role in attempting to steal airplanes in the United States at the behest of Colombian drug dealers. There was no question that the Independence, Mo., man was involved. He pleaded guilty to that and other charges relating to the sale of cocaine. But the leader of the airplane theft ring, Christopher Bailey, told the court that Hairabedian had directed the operation and had pocketed most of the money and drugs the thieves received in payment. Bailey’s testimony meant Hairabedian received 22 years in prison, about twice the sentence an underling in the operation would have received. For cooperating with prosecutors, Bailey went free. From the start, Hairabedian had told federal agents that Bailey was the operation’s ringleader. He told them the Colombians paid Bailey $200,000 in cash and cocaine, not the $5,000 he testified to in court. Hairabedian said Bailey lied to federal prosecutors simply to save his skin. Federal prosecutors said Hairabedian’s comments were the self-serving lies of a desperate man. Almost nine years later, everything Hairabedian said turned out to be true. An FBI agent and an assistant U.S. attorney, who had known of the deception for years, corroborated Bailey’s role as head of the theft ring and his perjury in Hairabedian’s trial. Federal prosecutors continue to fight Hairabedian’s effort to get a new hearing on his sentence. Bailey finally went to prison, but it wasn’t for being the ringleader of the theft ring. He served less than a year for his perjury. Not a bad trade-off, Hairabedian said. Hairabedian is serving a 22-year sentence. He manages a Christian ministry in prison and says he isn’t interested in special treatment, just fair treatment. That can sometimes be difficult to find in federal court. Lying victories The result of the tolerance for perjury is that the liar almost always wins. In a Nebraska case earlier this year, a paid federal informant set up cocaine deals among workers in meat-packing plants near Lincoln then lied about his past in court. Federal Prosecutors didn’t tell defense attorneys he had a criminal record, that he was an illegal alien or that the government was paying him. The defendants didn’t learn of the government’s deceit until after they were sentenced to prison. The witness admitted his past at another trial before a different prosecutor. The result: The illegal alien was given permanent status in the United States even as the individuals he testified against were convicted. They have filed appeals based on his perjured testimony, stating the government knew about the witness’s lies but allowed him to testify anyway, with no fear of repercussions. More promises It’s not always federal law enforcement officers whose promises might result in fabricated testimony. Ricardo Bilonick had more than a million reasons to tell jurors exactly what prosecutors wanted to hear. He was the former head of the Panamanian air carrier called INAIR. In 1995, he faced charges of being a key player in the Medellin drug cartel with former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, but Bilonick worked out a plea agreement with prosecutors whereby he’d testify against Noriega in exchange for a light prison sentence and a ticket out of the country. Noriega’s attorneys knew that. What they didn’t know was that the Cali cartel, the deadly rivals of the Medellin drug cartel, paid Bilonick $1.25 million for testifying against Noriega. Prosecutors insisted they knew nothing of the deal during the trial, a notion defense attorneys found laughable. In an appeal, defense attorneys maintained that the government violated Noriega’s due process rights when it failed to correct this false and highly misleading testimony. "The conduct of the prosecutors in this case is so reprehensible, so lacking in moral compass, that it nearly defies rational analysis," defense attorneys Frank Rubino, Jon May and Olga Ruiz argued in one motion filed in 1995. The 11th U.S. Court of Appeals sided with prosecutors, barely. "Although the government appears to have treaded close to the line of willful blindness, the crossing of which might establish constructive knowledge, we decline to charge the government with prior cognizance of the alleged payment." In denying Noriega’s appeal, the court also ruled that the disclosure about Bilonick would not have changed the result of Noriega’s trial. Noriega has 14 years remaining in his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami. The lies just meant Noriega got what he deserved, some could argue. But no one could say that about Don Carlson, who almost died in his Southern California home because federal agents shot him based on an informant’s lie. Rocky recovery Carlson has recovered from his gunshot wounds, at least physically. He spent a year in rehabilitation before moving from California to a gated community north of Dallas. He is still single. He doesn’t have to worry about money; he sued the government for $20 million because of the botched drug bust and shooting spree at his home then settled for $2.7 million. Carlson doesn’t believe the amount of money he got was excessive. His life in California was destroyed, as was his faith in federal law enforcement. He will never understand how federal agents could rely on a known liar and criminal as the basis for a search warrant, enforced with blazing guns, of his home. "[Edmond, the government informant,] was a low-level street dealer, part-time criminal who created this thing to get money from them," said Carlson. "He was basically extorting the government." Nor can Carlson believe the federal government’s arrogance. Even after agents admitted he wasn’t a drug dealer, they threatened to charge him with the attempted murder of a federal agent, a crime punishable by 10 years in prison, despite the fact the bullets he fired didn’t even pierce his front door. Federal officials made it almost impossible to find out what actually happened that night. A federal judge sealed the search warrant for his home "because of an on-going investigation," Carlson said. Carlson’s lawyer finally filed suit in December 1992, while Carlson, a computer company executive, was still struggling through the intensive rehabilitation that began after his lungs started functioning on their own again. For about eight weeks, he had needed a machine to keep him alive. The government promptly went into its "hibernation mode," failing to respond to any court papers until a judge ordered it to do so, Carlson said. After two more years of contentious negotiations, Carlson agreed to a settlement in 1995. It did not include an apology. "They would not admit they made a mistake," he said. "All they said was that they were a victim of circumstances." Carlson said he finally agreed to take money — about $1 million for each gunshot wound — because "that was the only way I could make a statement to them. The government wears you down. It was never about money; it was always about making them accountable, but that was never going to happen." Edmond, the informant who lied about the drug stash in Carlson’s house, was charged with a variety of false swearing and perjury charges and sentenced to a prison term, which he is still serving. No one else was disciplined. Carlson, now 46, retired from his company. After six years, he again can sleep soundly. The only remnants of his injuries are a damaged diaphragm and a problem with his leg due to the gunshot wound. He said doctors have told him the injuries almost certainly will shorten his life. Carlson said he doesn’t like to talk about the incident but does so because he fears the same thing might happen again. "I have continued to do this and will continue to do it because I have this hope that someday, somebody will do something to make something change," he said. He shakes his head as he speaks and admits that he doubts his words.
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