Defense in Murder Case May Implicate State

DEALER LURED TO HIS DEATH BY INFORMANT

Lance Estes was desperate.

Facing indictment for running a multimillion-dollar cocaine and
methamphetamine ring, the 33- year-old San Francisco man clung to one last
hope for freedom: Agent Blue.

For $100,000, the purported FBI agent told Estes, he could make the federal
case against him disappear.

But it was all a ruse -- a fatal trap.

Two days after Estes flew to Southern California on Aug. 28, 1995, to make
the payoff, his body was found in an Oceanside dumpster, wrapped in black
plastic and duct tape and stuffed in a sleeping bag.

Later this year in San Francisco, three men will face federal murder
conspiracy charges in connection with Estes' slaying. But it may be the
state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement that ends up on trial.

The defense is expected to pose a troubling question: Did state drug agents
help the suspects lure Estes to his death?

Court documents and interviews reveal that two state agents gave Blue --
actually a government informant in league with Estes' enemies -- the
confidential information needed to spring the extortion plot.

The bureau, which is run out of the attorney general's office, has declined
to comment on the state agents' role, as have the agents.

But Detective Mike Porretta, who investigated the murder for the Oceanside
Police Department, said the bureau initially withheld information from him
about the agents' involvement.

``Basically, they provided the names of the suspects,'' he said. ``But that
was the only information I got from them.''

It took more than a year before Porretta learned about the roles that the
agents -- as well as their underworld informant -- played in the Estes
case.

``When I found out how much this informant was involved, I was sitting here
at my desk with my mouth open. (The bureau) went over the line. It'll all
come out in the trial.''

It all began in Marin County in March 1995, when state agents, following a
yearlong probe, arrested Estes, his brother and an old grade-school chum
for allegedly running a drug ring. Estes had already served two years in
state prison on drug charges.

Here, according to federal documents and Chronicle interviews, is how the
case took a deadly turn:

In exchange for reduced sentences, Estes and the two others agreed to
become informants for state and federal authorities.

Yet once freed, Estes, who grew up in Marin and attended Redwood High
School in Larkspur, thumbed his nose at authorities and resumed his drug
operation.

As it turns out, his grade-school friend was informing on him.

In June 1995, two of Estes' couriers were arrested in Hawaii carrying five
pounds of methamphetamine. The couriers identified Estes and Walder Pierre
Rausini as the men they were working for.

Rausini, 34, was a Southern California drug dealer and ``cook'' who
specialized in refining methamphetamine into a more potent form of the drug
called ``ice,'' police say.

Rausini traveled in a high-living circle in Orange County, holding court at
local strip joints and nightclubs. ``(He) was always dropping cash, buying
drinks and dinners,'' Porretta said. ``He was the man with the money.''

Rausini manufactured the ice seized in Hawaii, prosecutors say, and he
blamed the arrests of the couriers on Estes.

For revenge, Rausini and an associate allegedly decided to kill Estes --
but not before they could extort as much money as possible from him.

For help in the extortion plot, prosecutors say, Rausini turned to ``Agent
Blue'' -- Mark Farchione, an informant for the state Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement.

Rausini knew Estes was desperate to avoid going back to prison, so he
allegedly asked Farchione to pose as a corrupt FBI agent and approach Estes
with an offer to make the case against him disappear for $100,000.

But to convince Estes that Agent Blue was legitimate would require specific
knowledge about Estes' case -- information possessed only by law
enforcement agencies.

Farchione approached Special Agent Shawn Barreiro, according to interviews
and federal documents, and asked whether he could get him the confidential
information.

Intrigued, Barreiro ran the request past Special Agent Randolph Blum, who
would later say he saw it as an opportunity to ``test his lines'' in the
drug underworld.

Blum, who had spent more than a year investigating Estes, then took the
plan to the U.S. attorney's office, which was seeking indictments of a
dozen players in the Estes ring at the time.

The U.S. attorney's office rejected the plan.

Yet for some reason, the U.S. attorney's office was apparently ignored. By
early August 1995, Farchione had the information he needed.

The extortion plot worked perfectly.

Estes and Farchione arranged to meet in front of a Hollywood hotel. There,
Farchione put a gun to Estes' head and showed him what appeared to be FBI
credentials, according to Estes' fiancee.

He then told him about ``specific things found in a search of his (Estes')
house which could only be known by law enforcement,'' according to an
affidavit by Estes' brother.

Farchione allegedly said he could make the drug indictment against Estes
``go away'' but needed $50,000 to begin the process -- and Estes bit.

After coming up with the first $50,000, he flew down to Southern California
on August 28, intending to make the final payment.

According to court documents, he was met at the Orange County airport by
two of Rausini's associates.

Estes was driven to a house in Newport Beach, where he was shot once in the
head at close range. A third Rausini associate allegedly revved a
Harley-Davidson in a side yard to drown out the gunfire.

Two days later, a man rummaging for aluminum cans in an Oceanside dumpster
discovered Estes' body.

``The ironic thing,'' Porretta said, ``is that (Estes) basically financed
his own murder.''

Because Estes had agreed to serve as an informant for state and federal
authorities after his arrest in March 1995, the four men charged in
connection with his slaying face federal murder charges that allege
``tampering with an informant.'' The charges also specify that the killing
was committed to further a drug conspiracy.

Rausini and two associates, Wayne Harrison and George Mrozek, have pleaded
not guilty, and a trial date may be set in the next few weeks. Frank Nason,
the fourth suspect, is still at large.

All four could face the death penalty in the first capital federal drug
conspiracy case in Northern California.

No charges have been filed against Farchione.

Instead, the state paid him approximately $40,000 for cooperating with
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agents over the years, Porretta said.

Farchione also wound up with the Harley-Davidson allegedly used to cover
the sound of the murder, Porretta said.

Farchione could not be reached for comment.

The state's role in Estes' death will almost certainly be a central element
in the trial. Officials openly worry that it could undermine the entire
case. ``The defense is loving it,'' said Porretta.

Meanwhile, Estes' loved ones are still angry about the state's actions.

``It's a game to them,'' said Monica Trujillo, who was Estes' fiancee.
``And they were playing it with people's lives. The agents who did this are
just as responsible as the person who actually did the crime.''

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A1