Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2008 Source: New York Daily News (NY) Copyright: 2008 Daily News, L.P. Contact: http://www.nydailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/295 Author: Alison Gendar Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/colombia Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/diego+murillo COKE KING DETHRONED He was supposed to be Mr. Untouchable - one of the world's 50 biggest drug traffickers, responsible for pumping tons of cocaine into New York City for more than a decade. Colombian warlord Diego Murillo was so cruel that one of his nation's largest newspapers dubbed him "The Exterminator." He was said to have gotten a kickback from every kilo that left Colombia by sea, and was allegedly responsible for hundreds of political killings as leader of a drug-financed, right-wing paramilitary organization. None of that bravado was evident when Murillo was brought to New York in handcuffs on May 13 to face federal drug trafficking charges that could land him in prison for 30 years. Gone was the swagger that made him so feared and helped him survive an assassination attempt with a crutch in one hand and a submachine gun in theother. "He is responsible for thousands of kilos coming into New York City - and those are the ones we can prove," NYPD Detective John Barry said. Barry was part of the team of federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents, NYPD detectives and Manhattan federal prosecutors that ended Murillo's reign. The soft-spoken Murillo, 47, looked more like a plumber than a drug kingpin when he got off the DEA plane at White Plains Airport, one of 14 alleged drug traffickers extradited to the Unites States. "The other druglords all gave him respect as they were getting on the plane. He was the undisputed king," Barry said. Murillo took over one of Colombia's best-known drug empires in 1993, turning on former boss Pablo Escobar and taking over his drug routes. Under the names Don Bernardo and Don Berna, his drugs flooded neighborhoods from Washington Heights to Crown Heights, authorities said. Murillo's gang allegedly supplied virtually all of the Colombian drugs that landed in New York. Murillo was indicted in Southern District Court in Manhattan and extradition papers were served in July 2004. He was arrested in Colombia in May 2005. Few outside the case believed he would ever be turned over to the U.S. "We worked - and hoped it would happen," said Barry, crediting Manhattan federal prosecutors working with immigration and law enforcement in Colombia and Mexico. John Gilbride, head of the DEA's New York office, said a conviction in the case would bring about the only thing Murillo really fears: spending the rest of his life in an American prison. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin