POTENTIAL PAYOFF FOR GRUELLING TREK TURNS INTO DRUG
CHARGES

Vancouver Ad Agency Owner 'made A Mistake' Carrying Pot-filled
Backpack Over Canada-u.s. Border, Cites Desperation To Fund Failing
Business

From the moment Chris Neary hoisted the 15-kilogram backpack full of
pot onto his shoulders, he had a sinking feeling that the smuggling
mission he'd signed up for was not going to turn out as planned.

Standing at his side in the darkness were three other men he barely
knew, each carrying a similar-sized pack full of marijuana. Ahead of
him lay a gruelling 16-hour trek - including five hours on his hands
and knees crawling on a mountaintop - between Cultus Lake in British
Columbia and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington State.

That trek could have ended with a $10,000 cash payoff and financial
breathing room for the struggling business that the former Telus
marketing director said he was desperate to salvage. Instead, the
smuggling expedition ended in drug-trafficking charges, with Mr. Neary
now facing the possibility of a lengthy U.S. jail term.

"When they gave me the backpack, I knew I'd made a mistake, but by
that point I was in too deep and had to commit to it," Mr. Neary said
in an interview with The Globe and Mail, his first since his arrest.
"I didn't know who else was involved or how serious of a nature these
people were."

Mr. Neary, 34, owner of the Vancouver ad agency Frank Communications
and former director of marketing for Telus, was one of five people
arrested near the Canada-U.S border on April 26 and charged with
conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and
possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Court documents say U.S. border agents found Mr. Neary and two other
men, Duncan, B.C., resident Daryl Fontana and a Bosnian immigrant
named Sinisa Gavric, "hiding in the woods near the snowline" in Mount
Baker National Forest.

Police recovered four backpacks full of marijuana weighing a total of
60 kilograms and arrested a fourth man, Carl Andrew Thiessen, as he
arrived on the scene in a sport utility vehicle. The suspected
organizer of the expedition, Richard Bafaro, was arrested a short time
later at a Bellingham, Wash., hotel. All five men have pleaded not
guilty.

Mr. Neary, who returned to Vancouver on May 25 after nearly a month in
custody, agreed to tell his story but declined to comment on his
interactions with the co-accused or the specific circumstances of his
arrest, saying lawyers have advised him to keep that information
confidential until his trial begins.

A self-described "ideas guy," Mr. Neary enjoyed considerable success
in the advertising business at a young age, most notably as a driving
force behind Telus's well-known animal-themed advertising campaign.

He left Telus 31/2 years ago to start Frank Communications, but the
upstart firm was hit hard by the recession. He worked "400 per cent
harder," invested in new projects, sought out business partnerships
and remortgaged his house - twice - yet continued sliding toward bankruptcy.

This spring, broke, desperate and isolated from his friends, Mr. Neary
decided in a "moment of bravado" that the smuggling scheme might help
buy him some time.

"I was so hell bent on making my business the same kind of success
I've had in the rest of my career, I just overlooked the ramifications
of it," he said, estimating the $10,000 payoff would have supplied
"about a month's worth" of cash flow.

"It was desperation and ignorance. . I was isolated," he said. "I
didn't ask anyone's opinion on it. I just did it."

Mr. Neary said his ego and competitive drive prevented him from
admitting failure and walking away from the business. "I felt it was
up to me to turn things around and I tried to do everything myself,"
he said. "My ego took me to the top of a mountain, literally."

Personal and professional risks aside, Mr. Neary said the cross-border
hike was a terrifying physical challenge that he would not want to
repeat under any circumstances.

"It was incredibly steep. There's a five-hour stretch where you're
just crawling on your hands and knees in the dead on night in subzero
temperatures," he said. "Just the physicality of this trek, it's
something you would never do twice."

All five suspects are scheduled to face a trial by jury beginning July
6. If convicted, they face maximum penalties of 20 years and
$1-million (U.S.) fines.

However, Mr. Neary has co-operated with authorities, has no previous
criminal history and played a secondary role in the smuggling
operation, all of which can be mitigating factors in sentencing, staff
at the state attorney's office in Seattle said.

Whatever lies ahead, Mr. Neary said he's ready to prove to his friends
and colleagues that he's "better than this one situation."

"I've had humility slap me in the face," he said, "and I want to stay
accountable to it and move forward."