COLONEL TO PLEAD GUILTY TO IGNORING WIFE'S FELONY

NEW YORK-(AP)-An Army colonel commanding the military's anti-drug operation
in Colombia knew his wife--who has admitted dealing drugs--was involved in
money laundering but failed to turn her in, prosecutors revealed Monday.

In a letter to a federal judge, prosecutors said James Hiett, 48, has agreed
to plead guilty to ignoring a felony committed by his wife, Laurie. The
charge carries up to three years in prison.

It was the first time the colonel was at all connected to the scandal, but
prosecutors refused to detail the case against him. His attorney, Abraham
Clott, did not return a phone call.

Laurie Hiett, 36, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges in January,
saying she shipped packages containing $700,000 worth of drugs to New York
City. She also admitted traveling to New York to collect the illicit
proceeds to take back to Colombia--an act falling under the legal definition
of money laundering.

At the time, Laurie Hiett told reporters she purposely kept her husband in
the dark.

"At one point, he may have asked me why I was going to New York," she said.
"I just told him, 'Don't ask me.' "

An investigation by the Army Criminal Investigation Division in Panama has
cleared Hiett, saying he had no knowledge of his wife's crimes. Prosecutors
in Brooklyn, however, had insisted their investigation was not over. Army
spokesman Harvey Perritt said Hiett remains on active duty at Ft. Monroe in
Hampton, Va., where he was transferred after the allegations arose against
his wife. He said military officials would not comment on the case. Laurie
Hiett--an admitted cocaine addict--surrendered to authorities last August
after they intercepted two 1.2-kilogram packages of heroin that she
allegedly mailed to New York from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

One of her co-defendants, Hernan Arcila, 54, has pleaded guilty to drug
conspiracy. Another co-defendant, Jorge Ayala, is awaiting extradition in
Colombia.

Laurie Hiett, who is free on bond, faces up to nine years in prison at
sentencing April 28. Her husband is to enter his plea on April 17.