GUILTY PLEA SET FOR OFFICER WHO LED U.S. NARCOTICS UNIT

The former commander of the U.S. Army's anti-drug operation in Colombia,
whose wife pleaded guilty in January to smuggling drugs into the United
States while he was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, has agreed to
plead guilty to failing to turn her in for money laundering, according to
court documents filed yesterday.

Sources close to the case said Col. James C. Hiett has dropped his earlier
denials and admitted storing in his apartment and embassy office safe as
much as $45,000 given to him by his wife. After her arrest last summer and
his return to the United States, he deposited the money in small amounts in
U.S. banks and purchased money orders with it, apparently to evade currency
reporting requirements.

According to the government documents filed in federal court for the
Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, Hiett will plead guilty on April
17 to a crime called misprision of a felony - that is, not reporting what
he knew of his wife's illegal activities.

Both Hietts have insisted he told his wife he did not want to know where
the money came from, and Col. Hiett - who earlier had been cleared by Army
investigators of any involvement in his wife's crimes - is not charged with
drug smuggling. But his admission of wrongdoing in the case adds another
level of embarrassment to the Clinton administration, and particularly the
Pentagon, at a time when they are asking Congress to approve a major aid
package to fight drug trafficking in Colombia.

U.S. officials estimate that as much as 80 percent of all cocaine and a
significant percentage of heroin entering this country comes from Colombia.
The administration has asked for $1.6 billion in aid, most of it in
emergency supplemental funds to be spent on equipment and U.S. training for
the Colombian military.

After Laurie Hiett's arrest made headlines, she pleaded guilty on Jan. 27
to a plan to smuggle $700,000 worth of heroin into the United States,
largely by mailing drug-filled packages from Colombia to this country and
traveling to New York to collect the profits.

"I never told him what I was doing," she said, speaking about her husband
to reporters after pleading guilty Aug. 5. She told the judge she had been
treated for drug addiction and expressed remorse that her activities had
undercut U.S. anti-drug efforts.

At the time of his wife's smuggling, Hiett was in charge of the estimated
200 U.S. troops in Colombia training security forces for counter-drug
operations and protecting three large radar bases used primarily to track
drug flights. He asked to be reassigned after his wife's arrest and was
transferred to the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe,
Va., where he remains on active duty. He is scheduled to retire in November.

James Hiett declined comment yesterday through a spokesman at Fort Monroe.
The Army and the U.S. Attorney's office in New York said they would issue
no comment.

Although Hiett had been cleared by the Army's Criminal Investigative
Division, the U.S. Customs Service continued investigating the case. In a
statement last night, Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, "Customs
agents have suspected for some time that U.S. Army Col. James Hiett had
knowledge of his wife's actions and may have even had some complicity."

Hiett's involvement, Kelly said, "will be further amplified on April 17,
2000, when the colonel is scheduled to appear in court."

Despite her denial of his involvement in January, sources close to the case
said it was Laurie Hiett who implicated her husband, and that he confessed
in November. At the time of her court appearance, Laurie Hiett told
reporters, "At one point, he may have asked me why I was going to New York.
I just told him, 'Don't ask me.'' "

The two reportedly discussed how to transfer large amounts of cash to the
United States without generating legally mandated currency reports. As Army
CID agents prepared to search their apartment after her arrest, the sources
said, Hiett moved the money to his embassy safe. Once in the United States,
they deposited small sums in various banks to avoid reporting requirements.

Federal sentencing guidelines set the penalty for knowledge and concealment
of a felony at no more than three years in prison and a possible fine of up
to $500. Sources said the plea agreement with Hiett would likely lead to a
sentence of no more than 18 months, to be served on probation.

Laurie Hiett is due to be sentenced April 28. Disclosure of the charges
against her husband and his upcoming guilty plea came in a brief court
document filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, informing Judge
Edward R. Korman that the two upcoming cases "implicate some of the same
factual issues." Assigning both cases to Korman, the filing said, "will
result in the substantial savings of judicial resources."

According to the initial charges against Laurie Hiett, the investigation
was set off by what was described as a "routine search" of a package in
Miami, initially thought to contain cocaine but later proven to contain
heroin, and bearing her return address. The scheme allegedly involved
mailing six packages to New York.

Two other people were charged in the case: Hernan Arcila, who was arrested
in New York and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs, and Jorge
Alfonso Ayala, who was arrested in Colombia in February. The United States
has requested his extradition.