Pubdate: 3 Mar 1999 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/ Author: Bill Wallace, Chronicle Staff Writer Page: A16 EX-AGENT IN HASHISH PROBE GETS PROBATION Kickback taken from informer in Thai smuggling investigation A former U.S. Customs agent who played a pivotal role in a politically sensitive international hashish investigation has been sentenced to probation and community service for accepting a kickback from an informant in the case. Under a sentence handed down in U.S. District Court in San Francisco Monday, Frank Gervacio, a 43-year-old former investigator for the Customs Service, will have to serve 100 hours of community service for taking a $4,000 gratuity from informant Michael Woods. Gervacio left the Customs Service on a disability retirement last year after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice resulted in the kickback charge. He had been the senior investigator in a federal drug probe of Thanong Siriprechapong, a former member of the Thai Parliament who is accused of smuggling nearly 50 tons of hashish into the United States during a 14-year period. Gervacio was the control agent for Woods, who was a key informant in the smuggling case. Gervacio developed a close relationship with the informant and recommended him for more than $110,000 worth of rewards and bonuses for his work on the hashish investigation. Later, Gervacio asked the informant to give him a $5,000 kickback, and Woods dropped $4,000 in the back seat of the agent's car during a meeting. Gervacio's actions have placed the government's case against Siriprechapong in jeopardy. Siriprechapong, the first Thai citizen ever extradited to the United States for trial, has moved that the charges against him be dismissed. If the charges are dropped, the action will probably have strong diplomatic repercussions, because Siriprechapong's extradition required highly sensitive negotiations between the U.S. and Thai governments. - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski