It is Wednesday Story Day time again, and last week, we were there when Carolyn pretty much told her father that she didn’t want his help. ADA Thomas now has a problem if she wants the case against Cortez to move forward. She must arrange to have Carolyn taken by the Mi5 agents. She rushed off to make some calls, and she is back in the room. We better get there so as not to miss anything.

“So, I just got off the phone with the FBI. They contacted the Mi5 agents, and it is all set.”

“What do you mean, ‘All set.’

“The agents have their orders, Lazar. They are within a few minutes of arriving at Carolyn’s dorm. They know to take her if she doesn’t come willingly.”

“Maybe I should try calling her again.”

“Sure, if you can get her to stay put, that might help.”

“Okay, it’s ringing. Hi Carolyn, aw, it’s voicemail.”

“Don’t leave a message.”

“Okay, I hung up. Why not leave a message?”

“If she wants to talk, she’ll call back. I didn’t want you to warn her and cause her to spook and run.”

“I guess leaving a message could do that. Good advice.”

“Thank you. Hold on. Here’s my contact from the FBI. This is Thomas. Uh-huh. Look, I have a few interested parties here. Can I put you on speaker? Okay good. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I can hear you fine. You hear me?”

“Yup loud and clear. I have with me a couple of officers from the Boston police, Lieutenant Mayfield of the State Troopers office, Robert Stennis, the defendant’s counsel, and the defendant Lazar Popović. Lazar is Carolyn’s father.”

“Thanks, Ms. Thomas. I appreciate the update.”

“So, where are we?”

“The Mi5 agents have reached the dorm. They are waiting for the go-ahead.”

“I would tell them to go ahead and take Carolyn into custody.”

“Okay, Hold on. I’m going to mute you while I talk to them.”

“We wouldn’t mind hearing the conversation.”

“Well, okay. It’ll only be one-sided. I’ve got them on the satellite phone.”

“Understood.”

“Hello, Reggie. Yeah, I’m with ADA Thomas, and it is a go. You need to take Carolyn into custody. Yes, that’s correct. It will be protective custody. Okay, I’ll be standing by. Ms. Thomas?”

“Yes.”

“You heard. They are going into the dorm now and will be apprehending Carolyn. They will call me when they have her.”

“I guess we can only sit and wait.”

“It shouldn’t be too long. Here’s a call. Yes, Hanover here. Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.  She did, huh? Going home? How long? Okay, call me back. Bad news I’m afraid.”

“What bad news?”

“Looks like she is gone. The agent reported that she is not there, and most of her things are gone too. They talked to the roommate, who said Carolyn packed some clothes and told her there was an emergency at home, and she was leaving.”

“You asked how long?”

“Yeah, the roommate said less than an hour ago.”

“She must have hung up and taken off. Lazar, how many rings on her phone until it went to voicemail?”

“Uh, two, I think. Could have been only one.”

“Yeah, she’s turned it off. This is not good. We could track him if it was on. I guess she knows what she is doing. She may have even dumped the phone.”

“What do we do now?”

“Got to put out a BOLO with an ATL.

“What does that mean?”

“Be on the lookout and attempt to locate. Don’t worry, Lazar we’ll find her. If she tries to leave England, we will get her.”

“I wish I were as confident, Priscilla. Now that my daughter’s life is on the line, I think I can call you Priscilla.”

Yes, Lazar. You can.”

 

It is Wednesday Story Day again and last week we were there when Lazar made contact with his daughter, Carolyn. He is talking to her by phone and meanwhile the British Mi5 agents are about an hour away from her dorm. Carolyn has an idea that her dad may be in a lot of trouble. Let’s get back to her and Lazar as they continue their phone conversation.

 

“I don’t have much time, sweetheart. There are two men coming from London. They work for the government and will be taking you to a safe place.”

“What do you mean a safe place?”

“We need to make sure you are safe from anyone who wants to hurt you.”

“You mean like Cortez?”

“Well. Yes.”

“Daddy. I think you ought to think about what you are doing. I don’t want to leave the university and certainly don’t want to go into hiding because of what you have done.”

“I’m sorry, darling, but we have no choice now.”

“Okay, explain that statement.”

“The fact I am in custody places you. At risk.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Cortez knows I’ve been arrested. He will want to make sure I don’t say anything. He can’t get to me as long as I’m being held, so naturally, he will want to get to you to make sure I don’t talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Sweetheart, please believe me when I say I know everything about Cortez’s business. I know enough to put him away for years.”

“That means you have been working with him?”

“Yes, Carolyn, I have.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Hold on, Carolyn. We need to give you instructions.”

“You don’t need to give me anything. Cortez traffics in drug and human slavery. You know that, I suppose.”

“Just the drugs, Carolyn. I swear.”

“Just the drugs, Daddy? Do you know how many young people have died as a result of Cortez’s drug business? When Jerry overdosed. Oh, wait. You remember Jerry, don’t you, dad? He was the one you thought wasn’t good enough for me. Well, he shoved a needle in his arm and never woke up. I suppose you were right. I didn’t expect him to do that and I was very hurt and disappointed in him. So I guess he wasn’t good enough for me. After he killed himself, I decided I would study the whole underworld of the drug trade. I ran across Cortez many times since his name kept rising from the filth. While studying this monster, it became clear to me that he was the scum of the Earth. And now, I find my own father was one of his associates. Well, dad, you can do your thing, but I need to do mine. This call is over. I really hope you are successful getting him behind bars, and maybe you two will be cell mates. I’m sorry to say this to you, father, but as of this minute, I’m an orphan. Good bye. I will always love you, but I hate what you’ve done.”

“Wait, Carolyn, don’t hang up. Carolyn?”

“I think she hung up.”

“What the hell do we do now?”

“We have no choice but to take her by force if she refuses to go with the agents on her own. I can’t have this operation jeopardized by your daughter being unreasonable.”

“I think you know if you are not successful in saving Carolyn. You can kiss the testimony goodbye.”

“Yeah, and we will also let this criminal continue to exist. Your daughter is not safe, no matter what you do. If we can’t get her, you both are at risk. Let me get to work on changing the scope of the mission. We will try to take your daughter, but no there are no guarantees.”

“I understand, Ms. Thomas. I pray you are successful.”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we learned that in all probability, Stanković, the guy who fingered Lazar, is not involved in the current mess. He may be a candidate in the future, but right now, with all his connections, he is a hot potato. The team wants to know more from Lazar about Cortez and Taggert. The ADA will need some pretty substantial firsthand evidence to go forward with an indictment. Our team is heading back into the interrogation room. We better get there to hear what is next.

“Okay, so Mr. Popović, it seems I’m going to need a little more information from you before we can talk about any kind of a deal.”

“What kind of information? I’ve told you about Taggert and Cortez.”

“you. Have told us nothing. Right now, you are looking at spending the rest of your life behind bars unless we can get some substantial information on how Cortez and Taggert are connected.”

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, Mr. Stannis.”

“My client is terrified of what can happen to him if he speaks up regarding the activities of his associates. We need to work out a way where he can tell you what you need to know and then be safe.”

“I’ve already said if the information is actionable, he will get all the protection he needs. So far, though, he has said nothing. You both need to trust that if lazar knows something, he should talk.”

“We had the same conversation while you were out of the room. I think my client is ready to give you more details.”

“That sounds good. So Lazar, what kind of information can you provide? Can you make a direct connection between Taggert, Cortez, and the drugs?”

“I sure can. In fact, I have phone conversations recorded.”

“You what?”

“Conversations.”

“With who?”

“Me and Taggert. Me and Cortez and Cortez, me, and Taggert.”

“Where are these conversations now?”

“In the cloud somewhere.”

“Can you get them?”

“Yeah. I just access Dropbox. They are all there.”

“Ok, so wait a minute. How is it that you were able to get phone conversations?”

“I got this app called TTSPY. It works on Android phones, which are the burner phones of choice of Cortez and Taggert.”

“They didn’t know you were recording.”

“God, no. I would be a dead man if they found out. I set the phone to record whenever they call. I never call them, so I didn’t get the other way conversations.”

“What made you decide to do the recordings?”

“You know, Ms. Thomas, I’m a God-fearing man. I figured I better protect myself since the deals were getting bigger, which means the stakes were getting higher. I just looked up on Google, how to record off a mobile phone, bought the app, and the rest is history.”

“So, how many conversations?”

“I’d have to say maybe forty or fifty.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Thomas.”

“Yes, Mr.Dunfee.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Did these guys discuss getting rid of Andrew and me?”

“Yeah, you bet. Cortez told me he was putting out the hit and would I be interested.”

“Well?”

“Not my kind of work, Mr. Dunfee. I said I was a God-fearing man. Thou shalt not kill.”

“I get it, Lazar. Maybe God would have appreciated it if you gave out a warning.”

“I didn’t need Cortez putting out a hit on me, which would have happened had I done that.”

“Okay, gentlemen. We now have attempted murder to add to the stack. When can we start listening to the recordings, Mr. Popović?”

“I can call them up anytime.”

“Maybe we’ll have someone transcribe them. For now, let’s talk about a few things.”

“Like what?”

“Like how much drug trade have you’ve been involved with and how deep are Taggert and Cortez in it.”

“Up to their eyebrows, Ms. Thomas. Could I get a glass of water.?”

“Yeah, let’s take a break. This has been very interesting.

 

 

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week, we met Pricilla Thomas, the Assistant District Attorney for the Federal judicial district covering Reno and Lake Tahoe. She also met Lazar and made it quite clear who was in charge. It looks like she is ready to start questioning Lazar, so I think we better get over there.

 

“Mr. Stennis, I will be recording this session, so that we have an accurate depiction of the conversation. This recording will not take the place of a signed affidavit and will be used to simply record today’s discussion for possible use in an affidavit. I hope you understand that this recording is in lieu of a court reporter. A court reported may or may not be necessary in the future, but for today, the recording will suffice. A copy of this recording will be made available to you. Let me advise though, anything your client says can and may be used against him in a court of law. Do you understand what I have covered?”

“Yes, ADA Thomas. My client and I understand.”

“Okay, then let me turn on the recording, and we can get underway. Ahem This is an informal discussion with Lazar Popović. Present is his attorney Jerry Stennis as well as representatives of the State patrol and Boston police department. I have explained that this recording could be used in a court of law, but that official documents would be generated should this become necessary. Council for Mr. Popović has agreed to the terms. My first question to you, Mr. Popović, do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

“I do.”

“You understand that lying to a federal officer is a felony and punishable by up to ten years in jail per count?”

“I was not aware but don’t intend to tell any lies.”

“Fair enough. For the record, please state your full name.”

“Uh Lazar Matija Popović.”

“And your address?”

“1663 Piney Woods Drive. Reno, Nevada “

“Thank you. Are you an American citizen?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, now to some more interesting stuff. Please tell me how you came to have all those drugs in your possession.”

“Objection.”

“Yes, Mr. Stennis.”

“It has not been established that Mr. Popović was in possession of any drugs.”

“Fair point. Let me ask you a different way, Mr. Popović. Have you ever been in possession of large amounts of illegal controlled substances or street drugs?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Were you in possession of the drugs seized in a raid on your warehouse yesterday?”

“It was my warehouse, and I knew the drugs were there.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well, it is hard to answer your question truthfully.”

“How so?”

“I didn’t own the drugs.”

“I didn’t ask if you owned them, I asked if you were in possession of them.”

“Does possession mean that they are on my property?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Okay then, yes, I was in possession of the drugs.”

“Now to your other point. Who owned the drugs?

“See, I’m not really sure. I know who paid me to store them.”

“Okay, who was that?”

“Mr. Taggert.”

“The assistant city attorney for Reno Taggert?”

“The very same.”

“How did he pay you?”

“in cash.”

“You were paid how much in cash?”

“For that lot, three million give or take.”

“Where is the money now?”

“Still in my bedroom at my house. It’s a pretty big bundle.”

“I’ll bet it is. Back to Taggert.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea who he is working for?”

“I do, but it would be conjecture. At least I know who Taggert said would be very disappointed it anything happened to the drugs before they were distributed.”

“Okay, who was that?’

“He mentioned Cortez.’

“Did he also mention Nikola Stanković?”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“Tell me more.”

“Stanković has the power to eliminate Taggert just for saying his name.”

“So, he’s not involved in your deal?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Just Cortez and Taggert.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay, let’s take a break for a minute. We’ll be right back.”