ARMY COLONEL SENTENCED FOR NOT REPORTING WIFE'S HEROIN SMUGGLING

After being chided by a federal judge for not apologizing for his
crimes, a United States Army colonel who once ran the government's
antidrug operations in Colombia was sentenced yesterday to five months
in prison for never reporting that he knew his wife was smuggling
heroin through diplomatic mail from Bogota to New York City. The
colonel, James C. Hiett, stood with his hands clasped tightly before
him in Federal District Court in Brooklyn as Judge Edward R. Korman
pronounced his sentence in a weary, troubled whisper.

Moments before the sentence was handed down, Judge Korman asked the
colonel if he had anything to say on his own behalf.

His lips set and his chin held high, Colonel Hiett said that he did
not.

"How is it you have nothing to say?" Judge Korman then asked, slapping
his hand on the desk in what seemed like inadvertent frustration.

"I didn't think I could speak at this point to tell you what I really
feel, sir," Colonel Hiett answered crisply, his jaw muscles quivering
with restrained emotion.

"The only thing that I did -- that I consciously did -- was try to protect my wife after the fact."

Colonel Hiett admitted in April to paying his household bills with
thousands of dollars he knew his wife had earned from shipping heroin
from the United States Embassy in Bogota to accomplices in Manhattan
and Queens.

His wife, Laurie Anne Hiett, pleaded guilty in January to drug
trafficking charges and is serving a five-year prison term.

The case of Colonel Hiett, who oversaw about 200 American troops
charged with training Colombian security forces in counternarcotics
operations, has been an embarrassment for the Army, which cleared him
of all involvement in the smuggling scheme last year after a
three-month investigation.

Despite the Army's findings, Judge Korman excoriated the colonel
yesterday.

"When someone in a position of trust engages in conduct like this, it
undermines confidence in the military," Judge Korman said.

"It undermines confidence in the country's drug program. And that's
what abuse of trust is about."

Colonel Hiett, 48, has already filed for his retirement, which is to
take effect in November.

Federal prosecutors have said that he could face a reduced pension,
even court-martial.

But Army officials did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment
on the colonel's case.

In an emotional twist to the hearing yesterday, Judge Korman allowed
the mother of an Army captain who died in a military plane crash last
year while serving under Colonel Hiett's command to address the court
before the sentence was issued.

The mother, Janie Shafer, of Brunswick, Md., has accused Colonel Hiett
of causing the death of her daughter, Capt. Jennifer Shafer Odom, by
revealing secret information about military surveillance flights to
Colombian drug traffickers.

Although Judge Korman allowed Ms. Shafer to speak, he acknowledged
that there was no evidence to support her allegations.

Standing at the lectern with a photograph of her dead daughter pressed
to her chest, Ms. Shafer begged Judge Korman to investigate the plane
crash, which the Army has ruled an accident.

Judge Korman said he had no power to investigate the crash, but he
consoled Ms. Shafer with gentle words from the bench.

"I'm looking at the picture of your daughter and I'm holding back tears
myself," he said.

"I can just imagine your suffering as a parent myself."