EX-CUSTOMS OFFICER ADMITS FAKING MEMO

A former U.S. customs inspector admitted yesterday to fabricating a memo
used in a "60 Minutes" report involving allegations of corruption at the
Otay Mesa border crossing.

"Essentially, I manufactured a thing for media exposure," Michael Horner
said in San Diego federal court.

Horner, 47, worked as an inspector between 1986 and 1992 in Otay Mesa and
San Ysidro. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Senate
investigation and to lying to the FBI agents who investigated the
memorandum's origin.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace used the fabricated memo in a
report that aired April 20, 1997. The segment spotlighted long-running
contentions by some customs inspectors that trucks laden with drugs easily
cross the border.

In his guilty pleas, Horner admitted using Customs Service stationery to
fabricate the memo, which was purported to be from Rudy Camacho, the San
Diego customs district director at the time.

Horner said he faxed the memo to "60 Minutes." When representatives of the
news magazine asked for additional proof, he sent another copy with an
official stamp on it, said Julian Greenspun, a senior trial lawyer for the
Department of Justice's public integrity unit.

Camacho, who is now director of field operations for the Customs Service in
San Diego, said he felt vindicated by Horner's pleas.

Camacho, who said he was never interviewed for the segment, sued "60
Minutes." As part of a settlement, "60 Minutes" aired an apology, but the
network stuck to the segment's underlying theme about drugs flowing across
the border.

Representatives of "60 Minutes" did not return telephone calls left after
business hours.

The memo included false instructions to Customs Service personnel in the
San Diego district, saying vehicles belonging to a certain trucking company
should be given preferential treatment through inspections at the Otay Mesa
Port of Entry, according to court documents. The documents did not identify
the trucking company.

A plea agreement requires Horner to cooperate with federal officials who
continue to investigate the memo. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend
at Horner's Dec. 11 sentencing that he receive just six to 12 months in
prison. Horner also could get probation, said his attorney, Mark Adams.