GIVING IN TO THE TEMPTATION

Rene De La Cova was a highly respected supervisor with the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration in 1994, working undercover in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. Five years earlier, it was De La Cova who had been selected to serve
an arrest warrant on Manuel Noriega after American forces invaded Panama.

De La Cova and his partners routinely investigated and arrested people who
might bring in more money in a month or a week, or a day than the agents
earned in year. Or five years.

In a 1994 operation, De La Cova and his partners were working under cover
and had agreed to launder $3 million for a Houston drug operation.

Once they got the money, they began arranging for the drug dealer's arrest.

Then De La Cova got a late-night call. There was another $700,000 to
launder, a drug dealer told him.

Could he do it?

De La Cova should have obtained authorization to continue the
investigation. Instead, he flew to Houston without telling anyone.

He stuffed the money into his luggage, flew back to Miami, and stashed some
of the cash in safety deposit boxes. The rest went into stock brokerage
houses and banks across the country.

De La Cova got caught. Just how isn't clear -- a judge sealed his case file
shortly after he pleaded guilty in 1995. He was sentenced to three years in
prison.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, someone convicted of engaging in a
drug-or money-laundering conspiracy involving that much money would
normally face more than 20 years in prison.

Still, De La Cova's arrest ruined not only his career, but his wife's.

Theresa De La Cova, a nine-year DEA investigator, resigned after her
husband's arrest.

Checked-by: Richard Lake