Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 Source: Wichita Eagle (KS) Copyright: 2000 The Wichita Eagle Contact: P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201 Fax: (316) 268-6627 Website: http://www.wichitaeagle.com/ Author: Dion Lefler And Tim Potter, Contributing: Novelda Sommers THE $10 MILLION MAN Robert Henry Golding died on an I-70 on-ramp in Colby, next to a rented Ford Taurus carrying $3.7 million in drug money. A few hundred miles behind him, he had left another $6 million in a Colorado storage locker. Golding, 43, stuck a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger Jan. 14 after a Colby police officer stopped the Taurus for an illegal turn, authorities said. His run was ended not by the platoons of high-tech federal agents he'd evaded for years, but by one small-town cop who didn't bite on a lie. No one -- except possibly Golding's alleged partner-in-crime Justin Erik DeBusk -- knows where he was going. But emerging from the investigation of his death is a picture of a man whose mother told authorities was brilliant, but someone she hadn't seen in four or five years, someone she wasn't even sure was living in the country. A man who spent half his adult life in federal prison and the other half pretending to be someone else -- and who built cover identities so convincing they fooled federal narcotics officers. A man haunted by memories of abuse at the hands of fellow prisoners who vowed to friends he would never, ever, go back behind bars. Illegal drugs were Golding's trade, and deceptions were his tools. One day, he'd be William Richards; the next, Pablo Robles; the day after that, Michael Connors or maybe Jay Falconer. Court documents list 30 aliases for him, and law enforcement officers say the number will probably rise to at least 40 by the end of the investigation. He carried blank birth certificates and other documents to create more identities should the whim or need arise. "He was a real chameleon," said Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Ron Hollingshead, spokesman for the DEA office in Denver. Part of what allowed Golding to stay under the radar screen was his nondescript appearance. The manager who rented him the storage locker in Fort Collins, Colo., said he was about 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds and looked like David Spade of the television show "Just Shoot Me." A onetime associate said he looked like Corbin Bernsen of the series "LA Law." An employee of a high-rise downtown Denver condo complex where Golding rented a pricey apartment said Golding looked like the prototypical jeans-casual Colorado yuppie -- obviously moneyed but not ostentatious. Police and federal agencies won't release a photo. So many people in the drug underworld knew him under so many names that agents feel it could damage other ongoing investigations. Inmate No. 02464-051 In prison, Golding was inmate No. 02464-051. He spent most of the period from 1985 to 1994 locked up in Bastrop, Texas; Lompoc, Calif., and Phoenix, said Scott Wolfson of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Little is known about his life before then. His mother, who lives in Texas, could not be reached for comment. A federal court sentenced him to 10 years in 1985 for continuing criminal enterprise and false income tax returns. His illicit enterprise was a major cocaine-smuggling ring that brought the drug from Colombia, Central America and Mexico across the Texas border, said Daryl Fields, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in San Antonio. In 1991, records show, Golding received a 1-year sentence for a false passport. A federal prison in Phoenix released Golding in 1994. He was supposed to remain under supervision for two years, but he vanished, authorities said. In his last days, Golding's closest associates were his friend DeBusk and his girlfriend, Mitra Mina Hagh. Court records show Golding and Hagh rented a condo July 15 at the Windsor building, a high-rise just off trendy Larimer Square in downtown Denver, where units run $170,000 to $400,000 each. They paid the building management $13,000 cash for three months rent and a security deposit, records show. It was a good place for Golding and Hagh to hide in plain sight. The building's occupants are split between older people and young professionals and "a lot of people here don't know each other," said Dennis Smith, a downstairs neighbor who had the parking place next to the one assigned to Golding and Hagh. The building itself is like a fortress, the lobby guarded day and night and the parking secured by heavy steel doors. Dennis Smith and his wife, Helen, say they never met Golding and Hagh and don't remember ever seeing a car in their parking space. Their first inkling anything was wrong came when Helen Smith, a Wichita native, read in the Denver Post that Golding had killed himself and that authorities had seized almost $10 million. Fooling The Feds Aug. 11 was the last time Golding and Hagh were seen at the Windsor. That was the day authorities arrested and held Golding for selling marijuana to two men from Aspen, Colo., according to a federal arrest-warrant affidavit. Golding's facility for false identity was to serve him well one last time. He told officers his name was "William Richards." A check of the FBI National Crime Information Center confirmed the identity and linked "Richards" to a May 1999 arrest in Maui, Hawaii. It was a small-time count of snorting cocaine in the corner of a courtyard at a shopping mall and "Richards" was released, Maui County police Sgt. Danny Matsuura said. While in custody in Denver, Golding received several cellphone calls from a woman identified as "Milan," believed to be Hagh, court records show. When agents put Golding on the phone, he told her, "They know me as William." Golding had had $35,000 in cash in a blue bag -- his pay for the Aspen marijuana -- along with $10,000 in a pocketbook and another $2,720 in his pocket. Authorities seized about 212 pounds of marijuana. Golding admitted he had sold the marijuana and said he was part of a smuggling ring distributing 1,000 to 2,000 pounds a month in Arizona and Colorado. He offered to help catch the kingpins of the ring, and DEA agents released him on his promise he would stay in touch with them. He didn't. Margaritas, But No Flash The agents learned they'd been duped when they got back a fingerprint match for "Richards" showing he was really Golding. They also found out Golding was wanted on a May 2, 1994, federal warrant out of Texas for parole violations. Jon Carter, one of the men Golding allegedly sold to, says he was not arrested over marijuana but for failure to appear on a traffic case. A 54-year-old Aspen chef, Carter said he met Golding about a year ago and had seen him dozens of times, mostly in nightclubs, where Golding liked to drink margaritas. He said Golding told him his name was "Sean Richards." While in Aspen, Golding drove a luxury GMC Yukon Denali and wore nice watches but didn't stand out from the crowd in Aspen. The median price for a home there is $2.4 million, and locals say the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires. "(Golding) wasn't a flash kind of guy," Carter said. Golding never said anything about his occupation or where he was from, and, "Up here, people don't ask questions," Carter said. But when Carter found out Golding shot himself, he thought he knew why: Golding had confided in Carter that he had served time in prison -- a small man in a place where small men are prey. "He said he had been attacked so many times," Carter said. "He said he'd never go back." The Beginning Of The End On Aug. 17, the day after the fingerprint match showed "Richards" was actually Golding, agents searched Golding and Hagh's apartment at the Windsor. The couple had left in a hurry, leaving behind clothing and other personal items. They'd also tried to burn documents in the fireplace, but agents found enough unburned papers to indicate "Milan" was really Hagh. The beginning of the end of Golding's run came Jan. 7, when Hagh was arrested while trying to cross the U.S.-Canada border at Blaine, Wash., north of Seattle. According to court documents, she acted nervously and told border authorities she had made purchases in Canada that would be subject to a duty tax. A search of her Ford Expedition turned up a metal box hidden under the vehicle that contained false IDs and almost $190,000 in cash, the documents said. Hagh is being held in a federal detention center in Washington without bond. Her lawyer, Ken Kanev, said she had been accused of making a false statement but declined to elaborate. About the time of Hagh's arrest, Golding had been staying in Seattle at the four-star Hotel Monaco, where a receptionist speaks with a melodious French accent. It was the kind of upscale place Golding frequented, said Denny Behrend, supervisory deputy U.S. marshal in Seattle. "It's kind of ironic because the hotel's a block away from our office here," Behrend said. Authorities Close In The border checkpoint arrest was the break law enforcement needed to close in on Golding. Hagh had rental receipts for a locker at A Storage Place, the storage-rental business at Fort Collins. The business is on an out-of-the-way site of a defunct drive-in theater. Agents checked on the storage unit and found a man named "Michael Connors" -- who gave a Montreal, Canada, address and driver's license - -- had rented it. "Michael Connors" was yet another of Golding's aliases. The manager, Tom Pasquarello, said "Connors" claimed to be in the area on business, paid for a year in advance on the storage rental and didn't do anything to raise suspicion. "He looked just like 99 other people who came in here to rent a storage unit," Pasquarello said. Agents set up a surveillance of the unit. About 9 a.m. on Jan. 14, two men showed up with a rental truck and a red Lincoln Navigator luxury sport-utility vehicle. The man driving the Navigator was identified by the storage company's records as "Jake Voskuhl," who had rented another unit in the complex. "Voskuhl" was later identified as DeBusk, records show. The two men went toward Golding's unit, but apparently spotted the surveillance agents and drove off in the truck and the Navigator. Later that day, investigators obtained a warrant and searched Golding's storage unit, finding 11 U-Haul boxes containing more than 400 pounds of cash -- $5,999,875, said Richard Weatherbee, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's office in Denver. DeBusk's storage locker, searched later, turned out to be empty. DeBusk, 26, who had used his own name to rent the Navigator, took it back to the rental agency and swapped it for the Taurus that he and Golding were driving when they were stopped in Colby. The two men took with them some Spanish-language instructional CDs. A cryptic note seized from Hagh had a reference to Minnesota. But authorities say unless DeBusk talks, they'll probably never know for sure where the two men thought they were going when they ran into Colby police Cpl. Scott Sitton. Sitton told Police Chief Randall Jones that his suspicions were aroused when he noticed that the driver of the Taurus didn't know what side of the car the gas cap was on when he pulled into the Amoco station in Colby. Sitton ran a check on the car's Michigan license tag, RKX 457, but he called it in wrong, so it didn't match up to the Taurus. Sitton followed the Taurus and pulled the car over after DeBusk, turning right onto a four-lane road, made his turn into the outside lane instead of the inside lane. DeBusk and Golding told him they were returning from a ski trip. Sitton was suspicious because they didn't have any ski equipment. He searched the trunk and found a locked bag DeBusk said was Golding's. Sitton told Golding to get out of the car. Golding did, then turned his back, took a gun out of his waistband and shot himself, according to police reports. Thomas County Sheriff Tom Jones was about a block away when he heard Sitton's radio call for an ambulance and backup. By the time he got there, DeBusk was handcuffed and Golding was lying face down in the grass by the side of the road. Sitton's face and uniform were spattered with blood. DeBusk was booked at the Thomas County Jail and charged with aiding a felon. His father, Fred DeBusk, of Huntington Beach, Calif., said he didn't know if his son knew what he was hauling. 'A Damned Early Grave' Early the next morning, law enforcement officials and two Colby bank employees began counting the money. Nine hours later, they had the total: $3,771,446. Randall Jones said he doesn't want to glorify Golding but was grudgingly impressed. "As bad as the guy might be, he was a pretty savvy businessman." But it was an ultimately destructive enterprise, said Sheriff Tom Jones. "What did all of that money get him? A damned early grave." Contributing: Novelda Sommers of The Eagle - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson