FEDS SEIZE NEARLY $6 MILLION CASH

Federal law enforcement officials called it the largest cash seizure
in Colorado history -- nearly $6 million stashed in a Fort Collins
self-storage locker.

And that's not all of the cash connected to suspected marijuana dealer
Robert Henry Golding, who shot himself to death beside a Kansas
highway Jan. 14. Kansas police found another $3.7 million in the trunk
of Golding's car.

U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland said the Drug Enforcement Administration
had been investigating Golding and his associates for more than two
years.

"And we're not done yet," he said.

The money in the locker and Golding's trunk -- mostly in $20 bills --
would have been enough to buy more than 20 tons of marijuana, court
documents said.

Golding was a mysterious figure who had several aliases, according to
law enforcement officials and court documents.

Federal officials seized $47,000 from a bank in Allentown, Pa., and
$5,000 from an account in Des Moines, Iowa.

Golding, 41, killed himself with a pistol he had concealed in his
pants after his car was stopped for a traffic infraction by a Colby,
Kan., police officer. Colby police found the $3.7 million in the trunk.

At the time, Golding may have known that federal officials earlier
that day had seized the $6 million stashed in A Storage Place on East
County Road in Fort Collins.

The driver of the car, Justin Erik DeBusk, is in custody, Strickland
said. DeBusk was seen at the storage locker the same day the money was
seized.

Federal agents discovered the storage locker after Golding's
girlfriend, Mitra Hagh, was caught trying to cross into Canada at
Blaine, Wash., with $190,000 in cash. Storage locker receipts were
found in her car.

Golding was arrested on Aug. 11 in a Denver drug bust. He was using
the name William Richards.

A fingerprint check showed "Richards" was in fact Golding. But by that
time, Golding had been released.

Contact Berny Morson at (303) 892-5072 or morsonb@rockymountainnews.com.