Word: villabona
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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While Bennett's flamboyant life-style attracted attention, the police had nothing solid on him. Villabona, however, became a bit too bold. In 1987 he lent a house he owned in Westlake Village to a cartel kingpin. When Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided the house in pursuit of that operator, they found records showing that Villabona and his Danish wife Helle Nielsen had seven bank accounts in Copenhagen. Later, the unsuspecting Villabona twice flew to Denmark, where he made hundreds of telephone calls to conduct his coke business. So, on one occasion, did Bennett...
...urging of the DEA, Danish police were listening. They heard Villabona and Bennett order 2,000 lbs. of cocaine and arrange its distribution. They also heard Cali bosses complain that Villabona was $3.3 million behind in his payments. Indignantly, he asked his handlers to prove that he was short. One of them detailed his transactions -- and the incriminating evidence was taped...
...driving a van at 68 m.p.h. in a 55 m.p.h. zone. The officers found 1,100 lbs. of coke in the vehicle. They also seized a cellular telephone. Tidily programmed into its memory were Bennett's telephone number in Tempe and that of a Los Angeles company linked to Villabona...
That persuaded a California judge to let federal agents tap the phone at Villabona's house in Malibu. They overheard him set up his biggest deal yet: a 3,000 kilo-a-month supply line to buyers in Detroit. Michigan police moved in when the would-be buyers tried to deliver $5 million in cash to a motel outside Detroit...
...swift roundup of the gang on Nov. 19, 1988, Bennett was arrested in Tempe and Villabona in Malibu. Harris was already serving a sentence for attempted murder. Last May they and five associates were convicted on a federal charge of conspiracy to import cocaine. This week they face sentencing. Bennett and Villabona were expected to get life imprisonment without parole. For Bennett, the thrilling ride on the fast track is over. The millions he spent are merely memories. His houses and fancy cars were seized by federal agents...