stirling complaint

8/3/2019 Stirling Complaint

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSO UTH ERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA11-z519 - 'zzx-o

UM TED STATES OF AM ERICAVS.JOHN PH ILIP STIRLING, et al.,

Defendants. /CRIM INAL COVER SHEET

Did this matter originate from a matter pending in the Northtrn Region of th UnitedStates Attorney's Office prior to October 14, 20032 Yes x NDid this matter originate from a matter pending in the Central Region of the niled StatesAttom ey's Oftice prior to September 1, 2007? Yes x No

Respectfully Submitted,W IFREDO A. FERRERUNITED STATES ATTORNEY

* *By: * - .D stin M . DaviAssistant United States At'to eyCourt No. A 5501 19399 Northeast 4th Street, Suite 700M iami, Florida 33132(305) 961-9083/(305) 536-72 3(fax)[email protected]

Case 1:11-mj-03518-BLG Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/01/2011 Page 1 of 7


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A0 91 (Rev.0s/09) Criminal ComplaintUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTfor the

Southern District of FloridaUnited States of America )

tj. ) .gRandy Wilfred Theriault, Luigi Barbaro, and )Jose Manuel Calvo Herrera, ))Defendantls)CRIM INAL COMPLAINT

1, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge an belief.On or about the datets) of October 18, 201 1 in the county of Miami-Da e in the

southern District of Florida , the defendantts) violated:Code section Oyense DescriptionTitle 46,United States Code, Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlle substance,Section 70506(b) while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the Unit d States, inviolation of 46 U.S.C. 70503* aII in violation of 46 U.S.C. 705 6(b). Pursuantto 46 U.S.C. 70506(a), and 21 U.S.C. 960(b)(1)(B)(ii), it is fu her alleged thatthis violation involved 5ve kilograms or more of a m ixture an substancetaining a detectable amount of cocaine.on

.

This criminal complaint is based on these facts:See attached Affidavit.

V Continued on the attached sheet.q e

Complainant 's signa reEric S. McGuire S ecial ent FBI

Swol'n to before me and signed in my presence..

'Date: 10/28/201 1 Judge 's signatureCity and state: Miami, Florida Hon. Bar L. Garber U.S. M istrate Jud eFgjyjjgjy yatpe gyjjy jj Q



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AFH DAW T1, Eric S. M cGuire, being duly sworn, hereby depose and state the following:

l . l am currently assigned as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of lnvestigat' n (FB1),M iami, Florida and have worked in this capacity since February 2010. M y official I dutiesinclude investigating criminal violations of federal narcotics laws. I have receive specialtraining in narcotics enforcement and have testified in judicial proceedings and prosec tions forviolations of controlled substance laws. l have also been involved in various types of isual andelectronic surveillances, and I have been involved in the debrieting of defendants, itnesses,informants, and others who have knowledge of the distribution and transportation of ontrolledbstances,and of the laundering and concealing of proceeds from drug traffkking. I a familiarsu

with the ways in which drug traffickers conduct their business, including but not limit d to theirmethods of importing and distributing narcotics.2. As a 1aw enforcement officer within the meaning of Section 251047) of Title l 8, UnitedStates Code, l am empowered by law to conduct investigations of and make arrests f r, but notIim ited to,ofrenses enumerated in Titles 18, 21 and 46 of-the united states code.3. This affidavit is submitted for the lim ited purpose of establishing probable cause n supportof a criminal complaint against John Philip STIRLING, Thomas Arthur HENDERSO , RandyW ilfred THERIAULT, Luigi BARBARO, and Jose M anuel CALVO Herrera for vi lations ofTitle 46, United States Code, Sections 70503(a)(1) and 70506(b), that is conspiracy to po sess withintent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel subj ct to thejurisdiction of the United States.4. This affidavit does not contain the details of every aspect of the investigation. oreover,

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the facts and information contained in this affidavit are based on my personal knowl dge andobservations, as well as upon information received in my oftk ial capacity from other in ividuals,

including other law enforcement officers involved in this investigation as well as my eview ofrecords, documents, and other physical items obtained during the course of this investig tion.

On October 17, 201 1, while on routine patrol, the United States Coast Guar (USCG)Cutter Confidence sighted the sailing vessel ATLANTIS V in international waters, appr ximately300 miles north of Colombia in the Caribbean Sea. ATLANTIS V was discovere to be aCanadian flagged vessel, bearing registration number ON81 1 161, white in color with b ack trim,and sixtpfour feet in Iength. The USCG Confdence approached ATLANTIS V and began toconduct the Right of Approach (ROA) process. Because the ATLANTIS V was of Canadiannationality, USCG contacted Canadian officials in effort to gain authority to board t e vessel.W hile awaiting authority from the Canadian government to board to the ATLANTIS , USCGConfidence continued to monitor the sailing vessel.6. The following day, on October 18, 201 1, prior to obtaining authority to board A LANTISV from the Canadian government, crewmember Luigi BARBARO jumped from the A LANTISV into the Caribbean Sea, ultimately needing rescue by the USCG. Aher being re cued andbrought aboard the Cutter Confidence, BARBARO infonned the USCG that narcotics re on theAtlantis V and that he feared for his life. BARBARO continued by informing USC that theremaining crewmembers of the ATLANTIS V were preparing to ttscuttle'' t e vessel.Additionally, CALVO jumped overboard and was eventually rescued by the U CG andtransferred onto the USCG Confidence.

At approximately l 1:30 AM , on October 18, 201 1, USCG received permissio from the

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Canadian M inistry of Foreign Affairs to board the ATLANTIS V. At that time, t e USCGlaunched a boarding team to conduct a safety inspection of the ATLANTIS V.8. Aer boarding, the USCG obtained positive identitication of the five crewme bers thatwere on board the ATLANTIS V. The M aster was identified as John Philip ST ING, aCanadian national. Other crew members were identified as Thomas Arthur HENDER ON andRandy W ilfred THERIAULT, both Canadian nationals, as well as, Jose M anuel CALV Herrera,a Colombian national, and, Luigi BARBARO, an ltalian National.9. The USCG then conducted ion scans of different areas of the ATLANTIS V; s veral ionscans revealed the presence of cocaine. The USCG boarding team then noticed s spiciouscaulking on wooden shelves and wood paneling. By peering through an existing hole, a boardingofficer noticed four to six packages that, in his training and experience, looked like co traband.Additional panels were accessed and additional suspicious packages were Iocated. The search ofthe vessel revealed a total of 358 packages of contraband, which field tested positi e for thepresence of cocaine. These 358 packages had a gross weight of approximately 400 kilo ams.10. On October 27, 201 1, the USCG Cutter Confidence made port at the USCG Suti n, M iamiBeach, Florida. On that date, at approximately 2:15 PM , STIRLING, HE ERSON,THERIAULT, CALVO, and BARBARO entered the United States in the Southern istrict ofFlorida. Additionally, at that time, 356 packages of cocaine were received by Unit d StatesCustoms and Border Protection oftkers, where it was processed and submitted for dditionalanalysis. Two packages were shaped differently from the other 356 and were fi ld testedseparately. The first package field tested positive for the presence of heroin, and t e secondpackage field tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine. M oreover, the ATL NTIS V

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was towed into the Port of M iami, where it remains.1 1. At approximately 4:30 PM , custody of STIRLING, HENDERSON , THE IAULT,CALVO and BARBARO was turned over to the Special Agents with the Federal ureau ofInvestigation. At that time, STIRLING, HENDERSON, THERIAULT,CALVO and B RBAROwere advised of their rights per M iranda. Upon being advised of their rights, HEN ERSON,THERG ULT, and CALVO invoked their right to counsel STIRLING waived his ri ht to anattorney, but stated that he would not provide information unless he was going to be rele sed fromcustody. However, when STIRLING was notitied that an immediate release was not po sible,hedecided to invoke his right to counsel. Later, unprompted during transport to the Federal etentionCenter in M iami, Florida, STIRLING remarked that there was nothing wrong with cocainetraftkking and that the United States should m ind its own business. He further remark d that ifCanada didn't have such high taxes, they could get legitimate jobs.

BARBARO also waived his right to counsel and admitted that he knew th re wereapproximately 370 kilograms of cocaine on the ATLANTIS V. BARBARO stated that th cocainewas primarily owned by a known Colombian national. BARBARO continued that o otherknown individuals owned a portion of the cocaine on the ATLANTIS V . BARBARO 'nformedagents that STIRLING was the captain of the ATLANTIS V, but that he (STIRLING did notrecruit him . BARBARO was also unsure how STIRLING arranged the departure of ATL NTIS Vfrom Santa Marta, Colombia, but believed that STIRLW G told the authorities at the po that hewas just going to move the vessel to another location on the coast, and then dep rted forinternational waters. BARBARO indicated that he believed the delivery of the cocaine w uld takeplace in Australia.

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13. Based on the foregoing facts, l submit that probable cause exists that the defend nts: JohnPhilip STIRLING, Thomas Arthur HENDERSON, Randy W ilfred THERIAUL , Luigi

BARBARO, and Jose M anuel CALVO Herrera, did conspire to possess with intent to istributefive kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel subject to thejurisdiction of t e UnitedStates, in violation of Title 46, United States Code, Sections 70503(a)(1) and 70506(b).

Eric S. M cGuire, Special AgentFederal Bureau of Investigation

Sworn and subscribed before me thisday of October, 20l 1 at M iami, Florida

HON. BARRY L. GARBERUNITED STATES M AGISTRATE JUDGESOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

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