MARIJUANA SMUGGLING KINGPIN GETS A STIFF TERM

He's Accused Of Lying In Bid To Win Cuts In His Sentences

A San Diego drug kingpin accused of lying about corruption to reduce his
prison term was sentenced yesterday to 27 years for smuggling thousands of
pounds of marijuana.

Alexander McAllister, who once ran a San Diego lowrider car parts business,
agreed to plead guilty last year to a federal criminal count known as the
drug kingpin charge.

As part of his plea, McAllister said he hired couriers, bought marijuana
and collected profits for weekly shipments of the drug from San Diego. He
admitted to supervising at least five people who smuggled 50 to 80 pounds
at a time to Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta between 1996 and 1999. Many of
the couriers smuggled the drugs on commercial airline flights.

McAllister, 38, was the lead defendant in a case involving 25 people, most
of whom have pleaded guilty. The case included Mark Spears, a former Delta
airlines baggage handler who helped move the drugs, and Chad Doggett, the
owner of Xclusiv Auto, a high-end San Diego car parts business, where some
of the drug deals took place.

At the time of McAllister's plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend a 20-year
sentence, the minimum punishment. The kingpin charge can carry a life
sentence or, in rare cases, the death penalty.

McAllister later approached authorities, claiming he had information about
a prison escape and two corrupt officials. When McAllister then failed two
polygraph tests, prosecutors argued he should face a higher sentence
because he had lied.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Robinson said McAllister had a long history of
trying to cooperate with authorities to avoid the repercussions of his crimes.

In 1987, McAllister agreed to testify against an associate accused of
shooting an undercover Honolulu police officer to death.

McAllister's cooperation came after he and the associate were arrested on
charges of selling crack cocaine to the undercover officer, Troy Barboza,
who was later shot to death.

McAllister agreed to cooperate against the associate and, in exchange, the
government recommended a sentence of no more than three years in prison on
the drug sale.

Once he got out of prison, McAllister continued to try to cut deals with
the government, Robinson said.

After authorities in Michigan discovered about $46,000 in cash in a car he
was driving, McAllister told them where to find the drug stash house. He
was released after the officers found cash, marijuana and two handguns.

McAllister also provided information about an impending drug deal after he
discovered he might be a target of a federal investigation. But, according
to Robinson, McAllister was only trying to determine whether authorities
were really investigating him.

In July of 1999, McAllister was arrested in the most recent case. His
statement to authorities lasted six hours.

When authorities wouldn't cooperate with him, McAllister continued to
approach the government with allegations he knew couldn't be ignored,
Robinson said.

McAllister claimed a San Diego police officer and a San Diego County
sheriff's deputy had leaked information about the federal investigation.
Again he failed a polygraph exam, and authorities couldn't confirm his story.

About a month later, McAllister again approached the prosecutor, claiming
he knew about an escape being planned by fellow inmates at the privately
run Corrections Corporation of America prison in San Diego.

Once more, he failed a polygraph.

Before handing down the sentence yesterday, Judge Irma Gonzalez said she
was especially disturbed by testimony that McAllister ordered associates to
collect $50,000 stashed in a San Diego woman's house by a fellow drug
trafficker. The woman, who wasn't involved in the illegal activity, was
tied up and a knife was held to her throat.

After the home invasion, the drug trafficker called McAllister to report
that McAllister's associates didn't find any money. In a tape of the
conversation played in court, both men were heard laughing at the idea that
the woman still might be tied up.

"The drug business is a dirty business," Gonzalez told McAllister before
sentencing him. "In the end, a lot of people get hurt."