The ambiance was perfect for an informal get together of friends. There were no chairs, but only cushions scattered around a sunken table. Shoes were left at the doorway in the Thai tradition.
The Thai food was excellent and the presentation was excellent, Mary and Dave split a whole red snapper, which easily could have fed two others. Next time he would request that the waiter remove the head, Bradford thought. He was convinced the eyes were staring at him the entire meal.
Everyone was in a festive mood despite the events of the day. Fred and Ginny couldn’t make the golf match and wanted to be brought up to date. It gave Dave and Buzz and opportunity to regale in their feats and brag on each other – it was like old times when the two had been close friends.
Fred was understandably distracted. He had been a good friend with Bill and Joe Martinez. He was also concerned about the restaurants that he owned with Mario. There was a good chance that the FBI would foreclose on Mario’s ownership shares, arguing that the money came from illegal drug activities.
“You better get a good attorney,” Hector advised. “The Feds can be ruthless.”
“Maybe you can buy them out?” Sven suggested. “I could probably get you a loan, but the interest rate might be pretty high for such a high-risk operation,” Sven joked.
“Do you have any friends that would vouch for you?” Buzz asked with a straight face.
The women had their own conversation. Jill was sorry that Buzz had lost, but got over it quickly when she saw that Buzz didn’t seem to care. She and Mary had a lot of catching up to do.
Dave still hadn’t heard the story about how Buzz went to work for the FBI. “Tell us Hector, how did the FBI get to a point where they needed Buzz?”
Hector looked at Buzz and sidestepped the question. “I traded three golf lessons for an FBI nametag,” he quipped. It was obvious Hector didn’t want to discuss the arrangement. There was still someone at the table they didn’t trust.
Bradford realized his mistake and allowed the conversation to move on. “Hector, tell us what you can about Mario,” Fred queried. “Just what is he charged with?”
“That’s why Dave invited me tonight, so I’ll tell you what I know. We suspected that Mario has been distributing drugs along the East Coast for several years, but we couldn’t prove it. Romano Montoya was his supplier and also the money behind most of Mario’s investments, including the casino. Our break came when Mario needed to raise money quickly to buy out Sven’s group. Romano and Mario were in a hurry to raise the cash, and got sloppy. We got a tip that they were flying the drugs into the Everglades where the drugs were transferred to a couple citrus trucks. We followed the trucks to the exchange and caught Montoya red handed.”
Buzz interrupted. “Did anyone see the news coverage of the drug bust at the Fairgrounds? That’s what Hector is talking about.”
Jill had seen it. “Yeah, they had live video on Channel 28. Didn’t a bunch of people get killed?”
“That’s right, Jill,” Steve replied. “Romano and two bodyguards were killed when they tried to shoot their way out and escape. One of the suppliers was critically wounded. The rest surrendered, including Romano’s financial man who did the wire transfers.”
“So how does this tie in to Mario?” Fred asked. “He was at the golf match, wasn’t he?”
“The drugs were hidden in false bottoms of two semis, under a ton of Florida navel oranges. Two men that have worked for Mario for years drove the trucks up from southern Florida. They were captured and immediately began talking and implicating Mario. Apparently Mario set up the deal, but for some reason Romano decided to take charge. Bad decision,” Hector commented.
“Is that enough to convict him; the word of two drug smugglers trying to cut a deal?” asked Fred.”
“Probably not,” Hector replied. “However, we do have another inside source and corroborating evidence that I can’t get into. Trust me; we have enough to put him away for a long time.” Hector saw no need at this time to detail Buzz’ involvement.
“What happened to the money?” Fred asked. “Channel 28 said there were drugs recovered, but no money. Isn’t that strange?”
“That’s the $500M question, Fred. What happened to the money? There wasn’t any cash involved; deals this large are done with wire transfers, the same way Sven bought the casino and other properties from Mario this afternoon. Cash is too bulky and counterfeiting is too easy.”
“So, what happened to the money?” Fred asked again.
“That’s what’s bothering us. We captured the computers used to make the transfers and followed the transactions. As far as we can tell, the drug money ended up in the Zurich National Bank in accounts owned by a Swiss corporation named International Investors, LTD. That’s your company, isn’t it Sven?”
The table went dead quiet. Sven was in a state of shock. Bradford watched his face closely; if he was acting he belonged in Hollywood. No, Sven was not acting.
Sven recovered quickly. “I assure you, Hector, there must be some mistake. Our firm would never have anything to do with drugs or anything like that. Our money comes from pension funds and wealthy investors. Tell them, Dagfin, you handle the deposits.”
All eyes switched to Dagfin Jensen. “Yes, tell us Dagfin,” Buzz said in a cold tone, “and while you are at it, tell us how you happen to be named on this document that assigns you ownership of the casino and all the other properties in the event that the parent company fails.” Buzz pushed the Deed of Trust towards him, but Dagfin did not react. He already knew what it said.
“Let me see that,” Sven said as he grabbed the document. After a few moments during which Dag sat in stony silence, Sven said. “I never saw this document before. You can see it was signed by four members of the Board of Directors, which is a majority and makes it binding, but I never saw this.”
“I believe you,” Hector replied. “Dagfin, do you have anything to say before I have you arrested for wire fraud?” Two FBI agents had stepped into the room.
Dag looked at Dave and said; “Ken was my friend, Dave. Believe me; I had nothing to do with his death.” He was silent as he was handcuffed and led away.
There was more. Chris turned to Pedro. “Pedro, you were responsible for the cash shortages in Cabo San Lucas weren’t you? You and Dag were working together. Do you have anything you wish to say?”
“Si, I have been foolish. Dagfin told me that the only way to keep the casino open was to get rid of the existing partners and allow Dagfin and his partners to get control. He told me to make it look like someone was stealing money from the casino so that his group could come in and do an audit. If I didn’t, the casino would be closed and my people would lose their jobs.”
“Who were his partners?” Hector asked.
“I don’t know; I only dealt with Dagfin.”
“Pedro, we need you to go downtown with these gentlemen and make a statement. Just tell the truth and I think we can get you back home in a couple days.”
“I will tell the truth.” He looked at Dave as he left; “Lo siento mucho.”
“How did this help Dag?” Dave asked Hector as Pedro was lead away.
“We weren’t sure at first, but Chris noticed there is a moral turpitude clause in the Deed of Trust that specifically mentions ownership succession. Dag inherits control of the projects if an independent audit finds evidence of fraud and embezzlement. Sven is fired and the Board of Director’s is dissolved.”
“Why is Sven’s group punished when Mario had operational control?” I asked. “I can see Mario being fired, but why Sven? It doesn’t seem reasonable.”
“It isn’t” Hector interjected, “that’s why we were so astounded when we saw the Deed of Trust. It proved that someone was working both sides.”
“Romano,” Fred said echoing everyone’s thoughts.
“No wonder Dag wanted Dave to win today,” Buzz surmised. “He would get nothing unless the Swiss took control of the casino and other projects.”
The tabl
e was quiet for a few seconds before Mary said; “I have a little surprise planned. Is everybody ready for dessert?”
Chapter 8
The Frosting on the Cake