LINGERING QUESTIONS FOR THAI TONY'S PROSECUTOR

Thanong Siriprechapong, the man known as Thai Tony, is in Thailand, free at
last. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lyons' future, however, is not as clear
cut.

That's because U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker still insists on
conducting an evidentiary hearing to examine Lyons' conduct in
Siriprechapong's drug smuggling case. The insistence comes even though the
controversial case officially ended Tuesday with a Pyrrhic victory for the
government.

At about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Walker signed off on a plea bargain that had
Siriprechapong plead guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. Walker sentenced
the Thai national to time served -- about 31/2 years.

In exchange, the government dropped the rest of its case -- including a
continuing criminal enterprise charge -- which could have landed
Siriprechapong in prison for life for allegedly heading a drug ring that
imported 45 tons of marijuana into the United States.

The reasons for the government's capitulation were the corruption of the
lead investigator on the case and Lyons' attempts to keep information about
the investigator out of the hands of defense attorneys.

U.S. Customs agent Frank Gervacio confessed to superiors in September 1997
that he had taken a $4,000 kickback form the paid informant who helped
implicate Siriprechapong.

Lyons knew of Gervacio's confession for nine months before telling Walker
or Siriprechapong's lawyers. When Lyons told Walker about Gervacio's
problems, the revelation ground the Thai Tony case to a halt and fueled
misconduct charges from defense attorneys. The resulting controversy is one
of many that dogged former U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi in the months
before he resigned.

Defense attorney Karen Snell of Clarence & Snell asked Walker to toss the
indictment against Siriprechapong, accusing Gervacio of lying to the grand
jury that indicted the former member of the Thai parliament and claiming
Lyons covered up other aspects of the case detrimental to the government.

Walker ordered an evidentiary hearing on the matter on July 14, where Lyons
and Gervacio are expected to testify. Despite Siriprechapong's plea
Tuesday, Walker said he still intends to go forward with the hearing.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller III declined comment Thursday.

But clearly, both sides are perplexed by Walker's insistence on holding the
hearing. Snell and her co-counsel, William Osterhoudt, no longer have a
client, yet Walker has ordered them to question the witnesses. At the same
time, Lyons is already facing an Office of Professional Responsibility
investigation into his handling of U.S. v. Siriprechapong, 91-0629.

Mueller suspended Lyons for four months with pay while awaiting OPR's
report. But in February, Mueller ordered Lyons back to work in the Oakland
office.

The OPR report is still pending.

One possible motive for Walker may be to compile evidence to refer Lyons to
a Northern District lawyer discipline panel, set up earlier this year by
Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.

Not only is Lyons being investigated for withholding crucial information
from Walker and the defense, he also drew the ire of OPR lawyers handling
Gervacio's criminal case. According to court papers, Lyons telephoned an
OPR prosecutor to ask him to hold off indicting Gervacio until he resolved
the Siriprechapong case. Lyons, according to discovery gleaned by the
defense, also put in a good word for the fallen agent.

Gervacio pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor charge of
illegally augmenting his government salary.