Pubdate: Sat, 13 Aug 2005
Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA)
Copyright: 2005 The Times-Picayune
Contact:  http://www.nola.com/t-p/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848
Author: Michael Perlstein, staff writer

DEFENDANT STUNNED BY GUILTY VERDICT

He Refused Favorable Plea Deal

Kenneth Vicknair was so confident he could prove his innocence in a bizarre
money laundering scheme, he turned down a plea deal that could have
given him as little as six months' probation. Vicknair's attorney,
John DiGulio, was so confident at the trial that he rested his case
without calling a single witness.

But, in the end, 12 jurors were so confident of Vicknair's guilt, they
convicted him after deliberating for little more than an hour in the
two-day trial. He now faces as much as 20 years in prison.

Vicknair, 53, was found guilty this month of money laundering and
wire fraud in a scheme to sell Venezuelan promissory notes to two U.S.
Secret Service agents posing as front men for high-level Colombian
drug traffickers. Vicknair became the third person convicted in the
unusual sting operation, which began in 2002 when Secret Service
agents received information from the U.S. Customs Service that local
men were trafficking in suspicious bank notes. The Secret Service was
told the men were trying to unload more than $150 million of the paper
notes for a fraction of their value. Harry Adair, of Belle Chasse, was
convicted of money laundering in March 2004 for acting as the
middleman in arranging for the notes to be traded for drug money. He
was sentenced to 20 years in prison. A second defendant, David
Wallace, of River Ridge, pleaded guilty March 30 to one count of wire
fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

Vicknair, of Marrero, was Wallace's partner in the scheme, federal
authorities said. A former pilot and self-styled international
entrepreneur, Vicknair allegedly had the contacts to obtain the
Venezuelan notes, a rarely used financial instrument that is scarce
even at the highest levels of international banking.

As the case unfolded, there was considerable controversy about the
authenticity of the notes, which the government maintained were
counterfeit, a contention Vicknair denied. Even after sophisticated
ink-and-paper tests and consultation with the Bank of the Republic of
Venezuela, authenticity remained in question.

As things turned out, it didn't matter. In a transaction arranged by
Adair, Vicknair and Wallace met with two undercover Secret Service
agents posing as money launderers at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kenner
on Jan. 15, 2003. When the discussion at the rendezvous turned to
swapping a $5 million promissory note for drug money, the agents
launched their trap and arrested the suspects. An audiotape of the
meeting was the centerpiece of the government's evidence at trial.
"Even though Venezuelan promissory notes sound like an oddball
contraband, it was still used as contraband and that made it a clear
case of money laundering," said Kim Tate , special agent in charge of
the Louisiana branch of the Secret Service. "It didn't matter (if the
notes were authentic), because the jury accepted the fact that these
individuals were willing to launder the proceeds of drug money."

Vicknair said he was "devastated" by the verdict and is already
working on an appeal. "It's not like I was involved in some backroom
deal," said Vicknair, who did not take the stand. "I negotiated for
five years to get these notes. I'm the one caught on tape talking
about putting the bonds in escrow. I'm the one talking about going to
a bank."

DiGulio said the undercover agents barely gave his client time to
comprehend his predicament, much less figure a way out without risking
his life. "They had Ken at one meeting and they popped him only 12
minutes after they announced it was Colombian drug money. If they
really wanted to see if he was in on it, why not wait 24 hours and see
what he does?" DiGulio asked. But Tate said the undercover agents
intentionally gave the defendants a chance to back away from the
transaction. "The agents gave them an opportunity to bow out of the
deal, but they indicated that they didn't care where the money was
coming from," he said.

Vicknair, who was convicted Aug. 2, remains free on a $50,000 property
bond until his scheduled sentencing Nov. 3.
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