DRUG STING SNARES MILITARY AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

TUCSON, Ariz. -- When the FBI began a massive drug sting targeting US
military personnel and public employees near the Mexico-Arizona border,
Mark A. Fillman was among the first to bite.

An Arizona Army National Guardsman for 32 years, Fillman bluntly told
undercover agents that he wanted to become a narcotics trafficker. On Jan.
21, 2002, he transported 11.8 kilograms of cocaine from the border city of
Nogales to Tucson, wearing his uniform and using an Army vehicle. In
return, he picked up $4,500.

Within a few weeks, the sting mushroomed, as participants recruited others
into the operation for cash bribes. Damien F. Castillo, another guardsman,
joined four others Feb. 27, 2002, to transport 30 kilograms of cocaine from
Tucson to a Las Vegas casino.

Two months later, Castillo recruited his brother, John M. Castillo, an
inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The brother
allegedly waved through trucks he believed were carrying cocaine at the
border checkpoint at Mariposa in return for the largest payoff disclosed so
far -- $32,000. From January 2002 to March 2004, the FBI operated 20
separate drug runs. In some cases, the drugs went from Nogales to Phoenix
and in other cases from Tucson to Las Vegas.

So far, 22 guardsmen, prison guards, immigration agents, and Air Force
personnel have been charged or have entered guilty pleas in US District
Court in Tucson, including Fillman and the Castillo brothers. The task
force conducted eight drug runs in 2002, 10 in 2003 and at least two in
2004. Justice Department officials are disclosing little about how the
sting operated, but an examination of court records tells some of the
story. It began small and grew explosively, as public employees rushed to
get in on what they thought was a narcotics smuggling ring. More than 560
kilograms of cocaine were transported and more than $250,000 in bribes were
paid. It quickly became one of the largest investigations into
public-sector corruption on the north side of the US-Mexican border, a
reflection of the growing apprehension about the power of drug cartels.

"It is a greater concern than at any time," said Noel L. Hillman, chief of
the Justice Department's public-integrity section that ran the sting. In
most cases, the FBI stings targeted one group at a time, so prison guards
jointly conducted one run and then guardsmen another and Air Force
personnel another. It effectively kept the operations compartmentalized, so
that only those inside the sting knew what was going on.

The largest group of defendants is from the Army National Guard, which was
assigned to help support border security after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. The FBI launched its investigation in early 2002, when
it obtained information that some members of the Guard were susceptible to
corruption, although it did not have direct evidence that soldiers were
engaged in drug trafficking.

Robert Bakerx, a sergeant in the Guard, was caught up in FBI drug stings on
Aug. 22, 2002, and Oct. 16, 2002. Then in July 2003, he was arrested on
charges of transporting 168 pounds of marijuana from Mexico, unrelated to
the FBI sting. He was discharged from the Guard in July 2004. Bakerx, 43,
was on probation for the marijuana conviction when he pleaded guilty to the
FBI charges May 12. He was released on his own recognizance, according to
the US Marshal's office. Contacted at his home, Bakerx declined to comment.
The undercover operations ended with a run May 20, 2004, in which Airman
Jareese V. Jones from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and two Air Force
sergeants, so far not charged, are alleged to have transported 15 kilograms
of cocaine, according to a summary of the charging documents released by
the Air Force. A Tucson lawyer representing another defendant said the
individuals who had been charged or had pleaded guilty were not the
ringleaders. "These are the bottom tier," said Ralph Ellinwood, who
represents Guillermo German, an Arizona state prison guard who admitted
taking $13,500 in bribes. "It is what happens with all stings: People who
are living close to the line are offered a fair amount of money and
they bite."