Pubdate: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 Source: Recorder, The (CA) Copyright: 1999 NLP IP Company Contact: http://www.callaw.com/ Author: Paul Elias LINGERING QUESTIONS FOR THAI TONY'S PROSECUTOR Thanong Siriprechapong, the man known as Thai Tony, is in Thailand, free at last. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lyons' future, however, is not as clear cut. That's because U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker still insists on conducting an evidentiary hearing to examine Lyons' conduct in Siriprechapong's drug smuggling case. The insistence comes even though the controversial case officially ended Tuesday with a Pyrrhic victory for the government. At about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Walker signed off on a plea bargain that had Siriprechapong plead guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. Walker sentenced the Thai national to time served -- about 31/2 years. In exchange, the government dropped the rest of its case -- including a continuing criminal enterprise charge -- which could have landed Siriprechapong in prison for life for allegedly heading a drug ring that imported 45 tons of marijuana into the United States. The reasons for the government's capitulation were the corruption of the lead investigator on the case and Lyons' attempts to keep information about the investigator out of the hands of defense attorneys. U.S. Customs agent Frank Gervacio confessed to superiors in September 1997 that he had taken a $4,000 kickback form the paid informant who helped implicate Siriprechapong. Lyons knew of Gervacio's confession for nine months before telling Walker or Siriprechapong's lawyers. When Lyons told Walker about Gervacio's problems, the revelation ground the Thai Tony case to a halt and fueled misconduct charges from defense attorneys. The resulting controversy is one of many that dogged former U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi in the months before he resigned. Defense attorney Karen Snell of Clarence & Snell asked Walker to toss the indictment against Siriprechapong, accusing Gervacio of lying to the grand jury that indicted the former member of the Thai parliament and claiming Lyons covered up other aspects of the case detrimental to the government. Walker ordered an evidentiary hearing on the matter on July 14, where Lyons and Gervacio are expected to testify. Despite Siriprechapong's plea Tuesday, Walker said he still intends to go forward with the hearing. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller III declined comment Thursday. But clearly, both sides are perplexed by Walker's insistence on holding the hearing. Snell and her co-counsel, William Osterhoudt, no longer have a client, yet Walker has ordered them to question the witnesses. At the same time, Lyons is already facing an Office of Professional Responsibility investigation into his handling of U.S. v. Siriprechapong, 91-0629. Mueller suspended Lyons for four months with pay while awaiting OPR's report. But in February, Mueller ordered Lyons back to work in the Oakland office. The OPR report is still pending. One possible motive for Walker may be to compile evidence to refer Lyons to a Northern District lawyer discipline panel, set up earlier this year by Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Not only is Lyons being investigated for withholding crucial information from Walker and the defense, he also drew the ire of OPR lawyers handling Gervacio's criminal case. According to court papers, Lyons telephoned an OPR prosecutor to ask him to hold off indicting Gervacio until he resolved the Siriprechapong case. Lyons, according to discovery gleaned by the defense, also put in a good word for the fallen agent. Gervacio pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor charge of illegally augmenting his government salary. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake