ACCOMPLICE OF COLONEL'S WIFE GETS PRISON

NEW YORK--A house painter who helped an Army colonel's wife smuggle drugs
from Colombia was sentenced Friday to a longer prison term than she
was--despite blaming her for orchestrating the widely publicized plot. Judge
Edward Korman sentenced the admitted middleman, Hernan Arcila, to five
years, three months in prison. Two weeks ago, Korman gave a five-year
sentence to Laurie Hiett, wife of the former commander of U.S. anti-drug
operations in Colombia.

Both defendants had faced up to nine years in prison after pleading guilty
to conspiracy charges.

Authorities accused Hiett of shipping $700,000 in cocaine and heroin to
Arcila's home. She and Arcila, 51, were arrested after authorities
intercepted two packages of heroin mailed from a post office at the U.S.
Embassy in Bogota.

"I want to ask for forgiveness for the mistake I made," said Arcila, who had
no previous criminal record.

The case has embarrassed Army officials and ruined the military career of
Col. James Hiett, accused of helping his wife launder $25,000 in illicit
profits.

Arcila's attorney, Telesforo Del Valle, had argued that his client was
recruited by--and took orders from--Mrs. Hiett and his friend Jorge Ayala, a
civilian driver for U.S. military commanders in Colombia. Ayala was arrested
earlier this year in Colombia, where he is fighting extradition.

A native of Colombia who has lived in the United States for almost 30 years,
Arcila had "a minor role compared to that of Laurie Hiett, who was able to
use her position at the embassy . . . to orchestrate the whole conspiracy,"
the lawyer told Korman.

But Assistant U.S. Atty. Lee Dunst argued that Arcila was a key participant
in the crime: "Without him, it wouldn't have been successful."