Pubdate: 06 Nov, 1999
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright: 1999, World Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Author: David Harper, World Staff Writer
Note: David Harper can be reached at 581-8359 or via e-mail at DRUG TRAFFICKER SEEKING RELEASE

Abello Says A Key Witness Lied At His Trial

A Colombian man who was convicted of drug charges in a high-profile case 
here nine years ago asked Friday to be freed based on what he claims is 
recently discovered evidence that government officials knew a key 
prosecution witness was lying in court.

In a new case filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, Jose Rafael 
Abello Silva claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency knew that trial 
witness Gary Wayne "Hippie" Betzner was not telling the truth when he 
testified about Betzner's supposed involvement with the agency during the 
1980s.

Abello was convicted in 1990 of conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana 
and conspiracy to possess the drugs with intent to distribute. He was 
sentenced to concurrent 30- year prison terms on each count and fined $5 
million. His conviction was affirmed on appeal in 1991.

In February 1997, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused Abello's 
request for a new trial.

Tulsa attorney Rabon Martin said he became Abello's new lawyer after 
visiting him at a Texas prison one year ago to bring to his attention a 
declassified CIA report that had been released in October 1998 and shortly 
thereafter was published on the Internet. The report is titled "Allegations 
of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the 
United States."

It contains what Martin termed "bombshell" revelations about what both the 
CIA and the Department of Justice apparently knew about Betzner's credibility.

Betzner, a pilot, told jurors during the 1990 trial that he had encountered 
Abello at Colombian airfields where he picked up marijuana. He said he had 
picked up 15 5,000-pound loads of quaaludes from Abello and that he 
delivered $500,000 and several crates of guns to Abello.

Betzner had already received a 27-year prison sentence of his own by the 
time he testified at Abello's trial. Betzner -- who had previously 
testified at the Iran-Contra hearings -- claimed that he had airlifted guns 
the CIA was sending to El Salvador and Costa Rica for the Contra rebels in 
Nicaragua. He claimed that he transported drugs on his flights home with 
the agency's knowledge.

Betzner told the court that he had various CIA contacts in the 1980s but 
testified: "I'm not giving you their names unless I'm killed. Then you'll 
get them."

In May 1990, U.S. Senior District Judge Thomas R. Brett said in court that 
he would "much prefer" to keep "all this CIA connection business" out of 
the case but said he would allow it in to test the believability of 
prosecution witnesses.

Martin claims that the October 1998 CIA report shows that the CIA had 
concluded before the trial that Betzner had not worked for the CIA in any 
capacity and that it had conveyed that conclusion to the FBI.

The CIA, he claims, had decided that it was an "absolute impossibility" for 
Betzner to fly his Cessna 402 airplane onto the Costa Rican 1,500-foot 
grass airstrip.

Martin said Friday that he is not accusing then-U.S. Attorney Tony Graham 
or then-Assistant U.S. Attorney David O'Meilia of knowingly using false 
testimony.

But Martin said that, because at least some governmental agents apparently 
knew of Betzner's supposed lack of credibility, the government had a 
collective duty to turn over the information to defense counsel.

Graham and O'Meilia -- both in private practice now -- declined to comment 
Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Litchfield indicated that he has seen the new 
case but said he would have no comment at this time.

Besides the claims about Betzner, Friday's complaint also attacks the 
credibility of another prosecution witness, Boris Olarte Morales.

Martin also makes arguments that aren't new. But the attorney said those 
claims are revitalized when combined with the "newly discovered evidence."

Even if this effort fails, Martin said, Abello figures to be eligible for 
parole soon. His case predates legislation that abolished federal parole.

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