Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2006 The Tribune Co.
Contact: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/submissionform.htm
Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Author: Elaine Silvestrini, The Tampa Tribune

POLICE INFORMANT TESTIFIES IN MARIJUANA GROW CASE

He And Defendant Appear In Tapes

TAMPA - As a musician, Harvey "Duke" Faglier said he was a natural to
help federal agents investigate illegal drugs.

A guitarist who has played and recorded with Jerry Lee Lewis, Faglier
said he first worked as a police informant in 1973 when federal
authorities were investigating doctors writing illegal
prescriptions.

"A lot of musicians take drugs," Faglier said, explaining why he was
able to help.

Faglier was testifying in U.S. District Court in the trial of Herbert
Ferrell Jr., accused of being leader of a ring that turned upscale
homes into indoor marijuana farms. Ten co-defendants have pleaded
guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government.

Faglier said he has traveled the globe as a police informant and
worked for many law enforcement agencies. In 1992, he infiltrated the
Ku Klux Klan in Georgia, helping authorities bring weapons charges
against some Klansmen.

Defense attorney Joseph Bodiford has described Faglier as a tattoo-
covered beast and a monster who coerced Ferrell into participating in
the growing operation.

Faglier said he was introduced to Ferrell by Dan Delpiano. The
prosecution says Ferrell approached Delpiano about investing in the
marijuana business, not knowing that Delpiano was an informant.

Bodiford had Faglier show the jury a tattoo of a dollar sign on the
palm of his left hand. He asked if Faglier's undercover work was
motivated by money.

"That, and to some degree, motherhood and apple pie," Faglier said. "I
believe in what I'm doing."

He said this case was the first time he helped investigate marijuana
growers. Faglier said he's received $15,000 so far for his expenses
and hopes to receive more money for his trouble.

Under questioning by Bodiford, Faglier said he kept a shotgun in the
bedroom where he stayed on Crooked Lane in Lutz. Bodiford played a
recording of Faglier showing Farrell scars he said he got when he was
stabbed by two robbers in Miami. One of the robbers, Faglier tells
Ferrell, is "no longer with us."

Faglier explained, under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Anthony Porcelli, that that conversation started when Ferrell showed
Faglier a knife and let him hold it. He said Ferrell told him about
collecting knives and his interest in martial arts.

Bodiford accused Faglier of threatening and bullying Ferrell, which
Faglier repeatedly denied.

Bodiford played a recording of Faglier agreeing to kill a member of
the ring who was causing trouble. Faglier said he went along with the
idea as part of the role he was playing and to possibly help law
enforcement make another case for conspiracy to commit murder. There
was no evidence that plot materialized.

Bodiford played a recording in which Ferrell talks about the financing
of the grow house. Referring to Delpiano, Ferrell tells Faglier, "Dan
basically said, 'Put it together.' You said, 'Put it together.' That's
what I've done."

The defense attorney told Faglier that statement was "consistent with
the fact that you were pushing this guy to put everything together so
you could get paid by the DEA."

"No," Faglier said. "I never once pressured Mr. Ferrell."

Porcelli played several recordings showing Ferrell more in control of
what was happening. In one conversation, Ferrell ticks off a shopping
list for setting up the grow house that Faglier was to operate on
Crooked Lane under the covert supervision of the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

"We need winches, metal piping, fans, ducts, rubber tubing, osmosis,
timers, paint, cords," Ferrell said on the recording, speaking slowly,
seeming to give the listeners time to take notes. To that list he
added, "vents, insulation ... gutters. Now, on the gutters, you'll
have several pieces. You'll have the gutters, the end caps - because
we're going to have end caps on some of these - and
connectors."

On another recording, Ferrell comments, "I've always been in
legitimate business. This is the first time I've ventured into
business on this side of it."

Faglier said, when it was time to shut the operation down, he and the
DEA concocted a story to tell Ferrell and the others so he could leave
town. Agents took the plants out of the Crooked Lane house, and he
said he called Ferrell in the middle of the night pretending to be
agitated.

"I told him the house had been broken into through the sliding glass
door," Faglier said. "Somebody drugged my dog. We made it pretty elaborate."

When Farrell showed up, the dog, Rambo, was staggering, he said. But
he said that was a coincidence. "It was an Academy Award performance
by my dog."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Derek