Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jul 2006
Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
Copyright: 2006 Columbia Daily Tribune
Contact:  http://www.columbiatribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/91
Note: Prints the street address of LTE writers.
Author: Sara Agnew
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRUG IDEA A BUST FOR ROCKETEER

Kentucky Man Guilty In Case Of Meth Missile That Failed To Fire

Hard telling how long it took Joseph Seidl and Michael Sullivan to 
come up with the idea, but it sure was sweet when it came together.

Imagine a homemade, cigarette-lighter-powered, drug-hiding rocket 
that sits in the trunk and can be activated from the driver's seat, 
ejecting illegal contraband from the vehicle with the flip of a 
switch. Beats swallowing the stash.

Thing is, the rocket won't launch if it's not plugged in. That's 
apparently what Seidl and Sullivan forgot last summer when they were 
stopped June 24, 2005, in Callaway County for speeding on Interstate 70.

Missouri Highway Patrol trooper Tommy Wally pulled over the pair, 
opened the trunk of the red 1990 Ford Thunderbird and found the 
4-foot-long cylindrical device stuffed with 2 pounds of "ice," or 
methamphetamine.

Seidl, 39, of Kentucky pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District 
Judge Nanette Laughrey in Jefferson City to participating in a 
conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Sullivan, 41, also of Kentucky, pleaded guilty last month to his role 
in the conspiracy. Sullivan, who was driving the car, fled on foot 
after the traffic stop and was arrested after throwing a small amount 
of suspected meth on the ground.

According to an affidavit given by Special Agent Steve Mattas of the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the rocket was controlled by an 
elaborate system of ropes and pulleys designed to lift it into an 
upright position once the trunk was popped from inside the vehicle. 
The bottom of the 4-foot-long rocket, which was about 4 inches in 
diameter, had eight explosive charges connected by a series of wires 
to a homemade switch in the front of the car.

The wires drew power from an adapter plugged into the car's cigarette 
lighter, Mattas said, adding that a bomb squad from the Missouri 
Highway Patrol found the contraption to be functional. Inside the 
rocket, law enforcement officials found two gallon-size Ziploc bags 
containing a large quantity of methamphetamine.

However, the power source to the rocket had been disconnected. So the 
Kentucky men's elaborate plan to shoot their "ice" into space never 
got off the launch pad.

Three pipe bombs also found in the trunk were tested and determined 
to be phony, Mattas said. But inside the bombs, officers discovered 
more illegal drugs. To top it off, officers found a bundle of $12,000 
in cash underneath a newspaper near the front of the passenger seat, 
Mattas said. Seidl claimed he saved the money from his $40,000-a-year 
job as a "chicken catcher" at Tyson Foods, the DEA agent said.

Seidl could face a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without 
parole to life in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of up to 
$8 million. A sentencing hearing has not be set.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Douglas Shull prosecuted the case 
with help from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman