NickDG 23 #1 June 17, 2005 Not my words, . . . NickD BASE 194 Ex-Portlander linked to Canada drug ring . . . Failed businessman Douglas B. Spink played a role in a marijuana-for-cocaine operation, authorities say Friday, June 17, 2005 By STEVE WOODWARD When former Portland businessman Douglas B. Spink was nabbed Feb. 28 in Washington with an estimated $34 million in cocaine in his Chevy Tahoe, the arrest sent shock waves through a major drug-trafficking organization that trades British Columbian marijuana for Colombian cocaine. "They're all freaked out," Spink's boss, Robert V. Kesling, said in an April conversation recorded by federal agents and detailed in a filing in U.S. District Court in Seattle. "Everybody's freakin' out." This week, the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle for the first time named Spink as part of a conspiracy to distribute "sizable" quantities of cocaine and marijuana. That includes the 372 pounds of cocaine seized from Spink and 452 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million seized in early March from a trailer parked in Woodinville, Wash., authorities say. pink, a Reed College physics graduate, was known in Portland as an aggressive mergers-and-acquisitions entrepreneur during the height of the technology boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By 2002, he was bankrupt, claiming more than $1 million in debts from lawsuits and failed business deals. After filing bankruptcy, he moved to British Columbia, where, according to associates and Internet postings, he maintained his interest in horse breeding and high-risk sports such as BASE jumping, which involves parachuting from buildings, cliffs, radio antennae and other high places. Authorities last month arrested Kesling, named as an organizer and manager of the 3-year-old drug organization and the owner of the cocaine found in Spink's SUV. Also arrested was Wesley K. Cornett, who, along with Spink, is named as a drug runner for Kesling. Cornett allegedly handed off five suitcases filled with cocaine to Spink in an Everett, Wash., parking lot shortly before Spink's arrest during a traffic stop in Monroe, Wash. Spink faces a July 11 trial on a charge of possession of five kilograms or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. He has pleaded not guilty, but the U.S. attorney's office says in this week's filing that it expects to resolve the case through a guilty plea. He faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted. Kesling faces a July 12 trial on five charges involving possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Cornett faces a July 12 trial on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. An affidavit filed last month in Kesling's case, given by Special Agent James Harris of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, details the aftermath of Spink's arrest. "Those guys are so mad, man," Kesling told Cornett in an April conversation mentioned in the affidavit. "They're like, what the (expletive) were you guys doing in a (expletive) parking lot?" Kesling advised Cornett to flee to Mexico to wait out Spink's trial, threatening him if Cornett became a "rat." During Kesling's arrest in Woodinville, authorities found 12 firearms and ammunition in his home, including several assault weapons, and a loaded 9 mm pistol in his vehicle, along with $3,200 in cash and his U.S. passport. Steve Woodward: 503-294-5134; stevewoodward@news.oregonian.com http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1119002189320290.xml&coll=7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
460 0 #3 June 20, 2005 BASE has its fair share of colorful characters.Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RhondaLea 4 #4 July 10, 2005 I had a letter from Doug the other day. If you are interested in how he is or if you want to write to him or pass an message along, drop me a note. rl rhondalea@gmail.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
