Citation Shares Pilot Busted Smuggling Drugs

[DashEight]

I believe in AVP. I knew him for 20 years, since he was a fence hanger. I was worried about him the last few weeks, he wasn't returning my phone calls or emails. Now I know.

Please spare the jokes and attacks. It's just sad. He brought a gift to the hospital for my newborn baby a few days after his father died. He was a good hearted guy. The man had a horrible year, his fiance' took him for $50-75,000 about a year ago. His father died rather quickly, if I recall correctly within a month or two of being diagnosed.

All I can say is this, it's quite sad, quite unexpected, and out of left field. Think about it, he had a job that paid him 100k+, then did this? I just don't think he was right after his father died.

Please give it a minute's pause before you insult him.

 

[wrxpilot]

DashEight,

While I didn't know him, I agree that it's a very sad case. Every time I hear of a promising young person throwing their life away like that, it just makes me feel terrible, even if I don't know them. Hopefully he gets the help that he needs, and is able to move on with his life someday.

 

[FRACTRASH]

dash, well put. I think this subject has been covered enough. He wasn't a bad guy and wish him and his family the best of luck getting through this. He has been through quite a bit in the last year. I'm sure he didn't do this in his normal frame of mind.

 

[satpak77]

A criminal conviction in a court of law is still a ways down the road. He is arrested, yes, but dont count your chickens before they hatch.

 

[tdwnds1]

I agree with the last post. Someone is innocent until PROVEN guilty. Though it dosent look good, let the facts come out in court.

My best to his family.

 

[AC560]

I agree with the last post. Someone is innocent until PROVEN guilty.

In a Court of law perhaps, but not in the Court of Flightinfo.com.

He should have learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know, then those cops wouldn't have come walking back from Copperhead Row.

 

[CherryBomb]

A guy got busted at my home airport a couple of years ago for flying Blow in a 310.

Rumor has it he was making 150k per trip.

My DEA buddies say that they are lucky if they catch 1 out of every 100 planes that cross the border illegally. Sad...

 

[glasspilot]

150K a trip? Are they hiring? Where do I send my resume and what's the interview like?

 

[Amish RakeFight]

150K a trip? Are they hiring? Where do I send my resume and what's the interview like?

Thats really, really good money. I wonder if they'd ever let you "quit," though.

Once saw a documentary on a guy who was considered the king of kings when it came to this type of trafficking. The guy had a very well equiped piston twin outfitted with bladders. Supposedly, this guy clocked like millions of dollars and buried it in the earth to conceal it. He did eventually get caught after many many runs.

 

[Pattern-Master]

Thats really, really good money. I wonder if they'd ever let you "quit," though.

Once saw a documentary on a guy who was considered the king of kings when it came to this type of trafficking. The guy had a very well equiped piston twin outfitted with bladders. Supposedly, this guy clocked like millions of dollars and buried it in the earth to conceal it. He did eventually get caught after many many runs.

Is this the guy that would fly non-stop from Colombia to New England in a modified 310. I believe he also flew through a hurricane to lose a citation jet from customs that was riding his tail on one of his runs!

 

[Mike Jenvey]

Pah! Peanuts!! One of my ex-company crew members was onboard this B707 with a leeetle white powder that got dropped off!!!

A mere 600 lbs, a record at the time, about US $80 - 90 million!!! I went to the court case, the crew member I knew was found not guilty, not so some of the others........

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Is this the guy that would fly non-stop from Colombia to New England in a modified 310. I believe he also flew through a hurricane to lose a citation jet from customs that was riding his tail on one of his runs!

I think so. It's tempting, fur sure.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Pah! Peanuts!! One of my ex-company crew members was onboard this B707 with a leeetle white powder that got dropped off!!!

A mere 600 lbs, a record at the time, about US $80 - 90 million!!! I went to the court case, the crew member I knew was found not guilty, not so some of the others........

A few yrs ago some AA wrenches at JFK were busted for retrieving kilos of coke in the tires. Actually, I think AA has a history of these issues with various employees, including the FAs.

 

[cjdriver]

I'm surprised no one has brought up the Flight Options pilot that got caught hauling ecstasy on a C5 he crewed in the reserves. I'm sure someone will chime in with the details. This was several years ago and i think he got convicted and sent to prison for a long time.

 

[clickclickboom]

Yes he was a beechjet pilot that had duffles full of esctasy.. they would stop in Remstein and load up. He did a few such run with over 1 million tablets each time. He only got 40k a load from what i heard.


Want a good read:

Trafficking by Berkley Rice

A late 80's book about the Air America Drug Ring that was based in Wilkes Barre Scranton PA.. I personally know many of his former mechanics and engineers that worked there in the 80's.

They could get 612 gallons of 100ll on a cessna 310.. Rick Lutyjes would haul drugs back from Colombia and then fly down there with millions of dollars going back to the cartel. He would have up to 2 or 3 diffeerent planes running and in addition to the 1-1.5 million he would make off his runs he would charge his other guys 500,000 to 1mil per run.. Guy was making 3 million a weekend.

Unlike the other drug runners that were operating junk planes their planes were top notch.. It was not uncommon for them to buy a nice 310 and then spend $150,000 making it perfect. A engine could have 50 hrs on it and if the filters didnt look good or any other reason they would yank the engines with new. At the time they also had state of the art VLF OMEGA nav systems.. Sorry I am sure many have just heard that term for the first time.

They also has grids set up of the atlantic and radio operators monitoring their discreet transmissions. There was a helio courier on floats that was always on standby in FL in case they went down over the ocean.

They would pop up in the NYC airspace and it was near impossible to track them from that point.

After getting out of jail he did ocean exploration for a while. I ran into him about 6 years ago in PBI he was flying a PC12.

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/books/he-parked-his-conscience-in-the-hangar.html

http://www.amazon.com/Trafficking-Boom-Bust-America-Cocaine/dp/0684190249

 

[TheBigMan]

Todays Update

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/07/harrisburg_area_men_arrested_i.html

Harrisburg area men arrested in Arkansas drug bust

by MATTHEW KEMENY, Of The Patriot-News Monday July 27, 2009, 7:51 PM


A pair of Harrisburg-area men flying from Tucson, Ariz. to the midstate had their trip interrupted by authorities when they decided to refuel at a small airport in Arkansas about 120 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Acting on a tip from homeland security officials, the police chiefs of Walnut Ridge and Hoxie confronted the pilot, Heath M. Gephart, and passenger, Mark Sweigart, in a 1977 model 310 Cessna airplane that landed July 20 about 1:30 p.m. at Walnut Ridge Regional Airport. After getting consent to search, police discovered nearly 420 pounds -- or about a half-million dollars worth -- of marijuana in dufflebags inside the aircraft, Walnut Ridge police Detective David Burnside said.
Gephart, 35, of Locust Lane, Lower Paxton Township, and Sweigart, 35, of Ridgeway Road, Susquehanna Township, were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted, they could serve up to 40 years in prison, Burnside said.

 

[TheBigMan]

Plane Stolen?

http://blog.pennlive.com/mobilecentralpa/

Owner of pot-filled plane headed to Harrisburg says he reported aircraft stolen

[Posted by MATTHEW KEMENY, Of The Patriot-News July 28, 2009, 14:34PM]

The Times Dispatch photoDetective David Burnside, with the Walnut Ridge Police Department in Lawrence County, Arkansas, weighs blocks of marijuana found on an aircraft at the Walnut Ridge Airport Monday.
A private plane that authorities said was hauling about a half-million dollars worth of marijuana from Tuscon, Ariz. to Harrisburg is owned by a Scranton-area man. Michael Murphy, 48, of Dickson City, said he was trying to sell the 1977 model 310 Cessna through a broker in Hilton Head, S.C. The broker, Murphy said, let two men test drive the plane and they stole it. Murphy said he reported the plane stolen on July 23 to the FBI and the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office.
Murphy would not divulge the name of the broker and said he did not know the names of the two men he believes stole the aircraft.
The plane stopped to refuel in Walnut Ridge, Ark. on July 20, which is when authorities -- acting on a tip from Homeland Security -- confronted the pilot, Heath M. Gephart, of Lower Paxton Township, and passenger, Mark Sweigart, of Susquehanna Township. After getting consent to search, officers found nearly 420 pounds of marijuana in duffel bags inside the plane, Walnut Ridge Detective David Burnside said.
Burnside said he interviewed the men, who each said the drugs didn't belong to them. Gephart and Sweigart were charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Murphy, who owns a towing company in Dickson City, said he bought the plane about 10 years ago but wanted to sell it and buy a jet. He said he didn't know anything about it being used to haul drugs.
Murphy is not the same Michael Murphy who co-owns Arooga's sports bar, a question that was posed by several PennLive posters in the earlier story

 

[Humphreybogart]

I think so. It's tempting, fur sure.

Are you serious or just being dumb? How can running drugs be "tempting"? Do you even care about the consequences? What if it was YOUR son or daughter contemplating it? Get real.

 

[av8tor4239]

Hypothetically...

What does a drug run in a light twin pay?

Just wondering how this guy was compensated.

10%... about 50 grand

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Are you serious or just being dumb? How can running drugs be "tempting"? Do you even care about the consequences? What if it was YOUR son or daughter contemplating it? Get real.

Money means a lot to me. Consequences don't. Find me a job where I can get paid $150K for a single flight. The good stuff is out on a limb. Don't interpret this as something I'm doing or plan to, but yeah, it is tempting to get paid so well.