Pubdate: Sat, 15 May 2004
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2004 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Ann W. O'Neill, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

FORMER TOP COP IN HAITI FACES U.S. DRUG CHARGE

The one-time commander of the Haitian National Police Brigade was
arrested Friday in Miami on a drug charge, the latest government
official caught in a federal investigation of cocaine and corruption
under former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Papers filed in federal court in Miami identified the official as Rudy
Therassan, who headed the Haitian national police from 2001 until last
August.

The U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed the arrest, saying Therassan was
taken into custody on a warrant after the Florida Highway Patrol
pulled him over on the Palmetto Expressway.

Therassan, 39, who according to property records owns an expensive
home in Wellington, will be held in jail until he can be formally
charged Monday before a federal magistrate in Miami with a single
count of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. He is
the second high-ranking Haitian law enforcement officer arrested for
drug trafficking since Aristide left the country in February.

Bush administration and U.S. Justice Department officials have said
publicly that authorities in Miami are looking into whether Aristide,
once a populist priest, was corrupted by drug money. Carlos Castillo,
a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami, declined comment
on whether Therassan's arrest might bring prosecutors a step closer to
Aristide.

Ira Kurzban, a Miami lawyer who represents Aristide, has denied the
former president had any dealings with drug traffickers.

An affidavit supporting Therassan's arrest describes the scope of the
DEA investigation "into the activities of drug traffickers who utilize
Haiti as a transshipment point for sending and receiving controlled
substances and illegal proceeds" between Colombia and the United States.

According to the affidavit by DEA agent Noble Harrison, four
confidential sources helped Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weinstein
build a case by linking Therassan to cocaine trafficking, protection
payoffs, and the Haitian government-ordered murder of drug lord Hector
Ketant.

The informants include a Haitian convicted in Miami for cocaine
trafficking and money laundering and another high-ranking Haitian
police official awaiting trial on a federal drug charge. Detailed
descriptions of the informants contained in the affidavit closely
resemble former Aristide security chief Oriel Jean and Hector Ketant's
brother, high-living Haitian drug lord Beaudouin "Jacques" Ketant, who
was indicted in 1997 and accused of moving 15 tons of cocaine through
Haiti.

Jean, 39, was one of Aristide's most trusted aides. He was arrested in
Toronto, brought to Miami, and charged with drug trafficking in March.

Ketant was sentenced in February to 27 years in prison for drug
trafficking and money laundering and fined $15 million. He has been
cooperating, hoping to shave years off his sentence.

At his sentencing hearing, Ketant launched an angry tirade, accusing
Aristide of being his partner in the drug business before betraying
him to the DEA. Ketant also blamed Aristide and the Haitian government
for his brother's murder.

The affidavit states that Hector Ketant was paying Therassan to
protect his cocaine loads and the two became embroiled in a dispute
over price.

One informant, who said he was present, told authorities he saw
Therassan shoot Hector Ketant to death, the affidavit said.

Another informant said the Haitian government ordered Therassan to
kill Ketant in February 2003. The informant added that Therassan
stated he'd taken a list of Haitian government officials assisting
Ketant's drug operation from the dead man's pocket.

Later, the affidavit stated, Therassan lied to DEA agents about the
shooting. He claimed Hector Ketant reached for a gun when police
arrived at his house in Port-au-Prince to arrest him. According to the
affidavit, "Therassan stated that due to this action, Therassan and
other police officers in self-defense shot and killed Ketant."
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