Pubdate: Fri, 08 Sep 2000
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191
Fax: (619) 293-1440
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Marisa Taylor, Staff Writer

EX-CUSTOMS OFFICER ADMITS FAKING MEMO

A former U.S. customs inspector admitted yesterday to fabricating a memo 
used in a "60 Minutes" report involving allegations of corruption at the 
Otay Mesa border crossing.

"Essentially, I manufactured a thing for media exposure," Michael Horner 
said in San Diego federal court.

Horner, 47, worked as an inspector between 1986 and 1992 in Otay Mesa and 
San Ysidro. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Senate 
investigation and to lying to the FBI agents who investigated the 
memorandum's origin.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace used the fabricated memo in a 
report that aired April 20, 1997. The segment spotlighted long-running 
contentions by some customs inspectors that trucks laden with drugs easily 
cross the border.

In his guilty pleas, Horner admitted using Customs Service stationery to 
fabricate the memo, which was purported to be from Rudy Camacho, the San 
Diego customs district director at the time.

Horner said he faxed the memo to "60 Minutes." When representatives of the 
news magazine asked for additional proof, he sent another copy with an 
official stamp on it, said Julian Greenspun, a senior trial lawyer for the 
Department of Justice's public integrity unit.

Camacho, who is now director of field operations for the Customs Service in 
San Diego, said he felt vindicated by Horner's pleas.

Camacho, who said he was never interviewed for the segment, sued "60 
Minutes." As part of a settlement, "60 Minutes" aired an apology, but the 
network stuck to the segment's underlying theme about drugs flowing across 
the border.

Representatives of "60 Minutes" did not return telephone calls left after 
business hours.

The memo included false instructions to Customs Service personnel in the 
San Diego district, saying vehicles belonging to a certain trucking company 
should be given preferential treatment through inspections at the Otay Mesa 
Port of Entry, according to court documents. The documents did not identify 
the trucking company.

A plea agreement requires Horner to cooperate with federal officials who 
continue to investigate the memo. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend 
at Horner's Dec. 11 sentencing that he receive just six to 12 months in 
prison. Horner also could get probation, said his attorney, Mark Adams.
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