ACCUSED SMUGGLER TO FACE DRUG CHARGES - 21 YEARS LATER

PORTLAND, Maine -- A man who disappeared 21 years ago after allegedly
smuggling 5 tons of marijuana into Maine waters has been extradited from
Brazil, U.S. Marshal David Viles announced Tuesday.

James Crain Bradley, who was returned to Maine last weekend, made his
initial appearance in a federal courtroom on Monday.

Bradley, 49, faces charges of possession with intent to distribute
marijuana that was worth more than $7 million when he was arrested.
Magistrate David Cohen has scheduled a detention hearing for May 8.

The federal officer who tracked Bradley down in Brazil said Tuesday he
looked forward to meeting the man he pursued since 1986.

"He was slippery," said Deputy U.S. Marshal Bob Roberg. "He changed his
name and didn't stay in one place too long. He only called back to the
United States once a year. That's what got him."

Bradley, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., was skipper of the "Relentless" when he
and two others were arrested on July 12, 1981, after the Coast Guard
boarded the 46-foot sailboat east of Matinicus Island.

All told, 11,100 pounds of marijuana were packaged in 255 bales stowed in
the sailboat, authorities said.

Bradley was released on bond and he became a fugitive in June 1982 when he
skipped a court appearance.

Roberg was assigned to the case in only his second year of service, and he
continued to pursue Bradley even as several other fugitives in the case
were arrested in the United States and abroad.

"When (Bradley) disappeared, he totally disappeared. He basically fell off
the face of the earth," said Roberg, who spoke from Brownville, Texas,
where he's taking part in an ongoing investigation.

Bradley had lived in Florida and the Caribbean and was an avid sailor. He
once worked as engineer on a ferry between the islands of St. Thomas, St.
John and Tortola in the Virgin Islands, Roberg said.

Over the years, Roberg said he pursued leads in the Virgin Islands,
Venezuela and ultimately Brazil.

Living under the alias Steve Lafferty, Bradley was working in a boatyard
when agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency assigned to Brazil
finally spotted him in early 2000.

He was arrested by Brazilian authorities in July 2000 in the town of
Caravelas in Bahia, Brazil, and the extradition process dragged on for more
than a year before he was returned to Maine last weekend.

Bradley was living modestly in Brazil and apparently lowered his defenses
after being on the lam for so many years, Roberg said. "He let his guard
down. I guess that's an easy way of putting it," he said.

That helped Roberg to eventually obtain a partial phone number in 1999 that
placed Bradley in Brazil. Roberg declined to say how he came upon the
number, but he said it was not through a wiretap.

Roberg said there are no hard feelings. He said he looked forward to
sitting down and chatting with the fugitive.

"I'm looking forward to meeting him. There are never any hard feelings.
I've got a job and I've got to do it to the best of my ability," he said.
"We're the best fugitive hunters in the world."

David Beneman, who is representing Bradley, declined to comment other than
to say Bradley "comes across as a nice person."