News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Border Guard Found Guilty of Accepting Sex Bribes |
| Title: | CN BC: Border Guard Found Guilty of Accepting Sex Bribes |
| Published On: | 2008-01-27 |
| Source: | Province, The (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-31 21:42:46 |
BORDER GUARD FOUND GUILTY OF ACCEPTING SEX BRIBES
B.C. Prostitute Smuggled Drugs into the U.S.
A former U.S. border guard has been convicted of accepting sexual
bribes from a drug-smuggling Vancouver prostitute and giving her a
free pass at the border.
Desmone Bastian, 33, was found guilty by a federal jury in U.S.
District Court in Seattle on Thursday.
"We are pleased that the jury found Mr. Bastian guilty of the
criminal conduct," said Jeffrey Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Washington.
"The integrity of our borders is too important to be compromised by
the taking of illegal bribes, be it money, sex or other items of
value," he said.
Jurors deliberated for two days following the five-day trial.
They found Bastian not guilty of aiding and abetting the importation
of marijuana, and were unable to reach a verdict on three other charges.
Bastian was arrested at the end of his shift in October 2006, after a
seven-month investigation triggered by the arrest of Sandra Maas, a
Vancouver prostitute who was caught smuggling 3,000 pills of
OxyContin, an addictive opiate used as a street drug.
The investigation found Maas had made multiple border crossings over
the previous two years, and had gone through Bastian's checkpoint
lane at the Blaine, Wash., crossing without undergoing a secondary
check or vehicle inspection at least six times while he was on duty.
In phone conversations taped by Canadian police, Maas is heard
bragging to her drug supplier about her connection at the border.
Maas, who testified in court, admitted to smuggling pot, ecstasy and
OxyContin, but Bastian is only charged in relation to a Feb. 25,
2005, shipment of 100 kilograms of pot.
Maas said her dealings with Bastian began in 2001, when he would
visit her brothel in Vancouver, sometimes in uniform.
Bastian, an American, lives in Surrey with his Canadian wife and
baby, and worked as a U.S. customs officer for eight years before his arrest.
Bastian remains free pending sentencing on April 7. He faces a
maximum of 15 years in prison.
B.C. Prostitute Smuggled Drugs into the U.S.
A former U.S. border guard has been convicted of accepting sexual
bribes from a drug-smuggling Vancouver prostitute and giving her a
free pass at the border.
Desmone Bastian, 33, was found guilty by a federal jury in U.S.
District Court in Seattle on Thursday.
"We are pleased that the jury found Mr. Bastian guilty of the
criminal conduct," said Jeffrey Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Washington.
"The integrity of our borders is too important to be compromised by
the taking of illegal bribes, be it money, sex or other items of
value," he said.
Jurors deliberated for two days following the five-day trial.
They found Bastian not guilty of aiding and abetting the importation
of marijuana, and were unable to reach a verdict on three other charges.
Bastian was arrested at the end of his shift in October 2006, after a
seven-month investigation triggered by the arrest of Sandra Maas, a
Vancouver prostitute who was caught smuggling 3,000 pills of
OxyContin, an addictive opiate used as a street drug.
The investigation found Maas had made multiple border crossings over
the previous two years, and had gone through Bastian's checkpoint
lane at the Blaine, Wash., crossing without undergoing a secondary
check or vehicle inspection at least six times while he was on duty.
In phone conversations taped by Canadian police, Maas is heard
bragging to her drug supplier about her connection at the border.
Maas, who testified in court, admitted to smuggling pot, ecstasy and
OxyContin, but Bastian is only charged in relation to a Feb. 25,
2005, shipment of 100 kilograms of pot.
Maas said her dealings with Bastian began in 2001, when he would
visit her brothel in Vancouver, sometimes in uniform.
Bastian, an American, lives in Surrey with his Canadian wife and
baby, and worked as a U.S. customs officer for eight years before his arrest.
Bastian remains free pending sentencing on April 7. He faces a
maximum of 15 years in prison.
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