EX-PROSECUTOR SAYS INFORMANT DENOUNCED HER

In a rare peek inside the U.S. war on drugs, a former high-ranking
prosecutor testified Tuesday in Miami federal court that a longtime
informant alleged that the prosecutor had taken kickbacks in exchange for
favorable plea deals with indicted Colombian smugglers.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Theresa Van Vliet said she learned of the
claim by informant Baruch Vega from a U.S. Customs Service agent and
immediately asked her office to investigate. Vega was suspected of trying
to shake down people accused of cocaine trafficking by claiming that he had
high-level government officials willing to make deals.

"The allegation was that I was receiving money in this scam," said Van
Vliet, who denied the claim. She was later cleared.

Her testimony -- airing behind-the-scenes details of the drug war that are
rarely publicized -- came during a magistrate's hearing in which Vega, a
former Miami Beach fashion photographer, has emerged as a central figure.
Vega has been accused by alleged former Medellin cartel leader Fabio
Ochoa-Vasquez of trying to extort $30 million from him. Ochoa was indicted
on conspiracy charges in 1999 and later extradited to Miami.

Ochoa's attorney, Roy Black, claims the government charged his client in
the sweeping Operation Millennium indictment because he wouldn't pay Vega
the bribe.

Black is asking U.S. Magistrate William Turnoff to dismiss the indictment
of Ochoa, alleging ``outrageous governmental misconduct."

So he called Van Vliet to testify under oath. It is highly unusual for a
former prosecutor to testify about a federal case, especially before it
goes to trial.

She testified that Vega and an associate were charged in March 2000 with
cooking up "phony cooperation deals" that promised lenient prison sentences
for cocaine traffickers in exchange for millions of dollars.

The pair regularly flew on chartered jets to Panama -- along with DEA
agents, local police officers, criminal defense lawyers and even fashion
models -- to make their sales pitch to the smugglers and their family members.

'I WAS LIVID'

Van Vliet said that when she learned about Vega's operation, she told DEA
agents to get their informant under control.

"I was livid," she testified.

Van Vliet said Black's conspiracy theory is groundless -- that there was no
connection between Vega and the Ochoa indictment. DEA agent Paul Craine,
the only other person who testified Tuesday, also denied that there was a link.

The magistrate said he would issue a decision soon. Ochoa is scheduled to
stand trial in May on charges of organizing the distribution of 30 tons of
cocaine a month between 1997 and 1999.

The indictment names a total of 43 defendants, but more than half have
pleaded guilty in plea agreements.

Separate charges against Vega and associate Roman Suarez Lopez -- for
obstruction of justice and money-laundering for allegedly accepting between
$6 million and $100 million from top smugglers for their surrender -- were
dropped in 2001.

Federal prosecutor Ed Ryan, who inherited the case from Van Vliet, said the
Department of Justice dismissed the charges because federal agents had
given the pair great leeway to negotiate with traffickers.

Vega, who was not allowed by the magistrate to testify, said he wanted to
give his side of the story.

He said he never told any Colombian smugglers they could win lenient
sentences if they paid bribes.

Van Vliet said she heard about the bribe allegation involving her from
Customs agent Edward Kacerosky. He declined comment through an agency
spokesman.

Vega, in an interview after the hearing, said Kacerosky ``made it up."

Vega, 56, described himself as a "freelance" informant who worked for
several federal agencies and had "100 percent" authority to mediate the
surrender of Colombian traffickers. He said he told them he had contacts
with high-level officials at the Department of Justice and in the U.S.
attorney's office in Miami.

He said he brought in 114 indicted traffickers since 1985. Over the years,
he and his associate, Lopez Suarez, said they collected about $4 million in
commissions.

They said they had to meet many expenses -- including Learjet charters,
hotel bills and meals for the traffickers and their families.

Vega said he met with Ochoa several times in Colombia, suggesting that he
and his two brothers could surrender, but that they would need up to $4
million for a legal defense. But then, he said, DEA agents told him to stop
negotiating with the Ochoas.

DAMAGING ENTERPRISE

Vega's operation caused not only great risk for him -- he claims a
Colombian cartel has put a contract on his life -- but also hurt the
careers of two DEA agents who supervised him.

David Tinsley and Larry Castillo, based in Miami, have been relegated to
desk jobs for the past two years while awaiting the final word on internal
investigations.

Tinsley's attorney, Richard Sharpstein, said that his client and Castillo
were cleared by a grand jury.

"Tinsley has been unfairly hung out to dry," Sharpstein said. ``Vega played
the system like a Stradivarius violin. Vega manipulated both sides against
the middle."