The drugs they had been accused of smuggling were estimated to be worth about $40 million, but now that the 11 crew members of the Adriatik have been acquitted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, they have no money and no way to get home.
After the jury delivered its not-guilty verdict Tuesday morning, an informal hearing with District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore was called by defense counsel on behalf of their clients to figure out what to do with the men, most of them from South American countries.
"Any defendants who have the funds to get home, then they should use them," Moore said. "Those who don't will have to go through removal through distress and that requires a couple of forms to be filled out, but that means they have to be taken into INS custody."
Most of the passports and visas of the imprisoned men have expired during their 14-month incarceration, which leaves the men free, but illegal immigrants.
The defense and prosecution delivered their closing arguments Monday, hinging on the credibility of state's witnesses Jose Luis Perez-Oviedo and Sergio Sanchez, the captain and first mate of the Panamanian cargo ship Adriatik.
"As I said in my opening statements," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson Jones, "this case comes down to one thing: whether you believe the captain and the first mate."
All 11 defense attorneys attacked the credibility of Perez-Oviedo and Sanchez. During the trial, witnesses testified the captain was intoxicated much of the time and brought prostitutes aboard the vessel.
"Oviedo and Sanchez would have said they were Cesar Chavez or Santa Claus delivering gifts to the North Pole if it would serve their needs," said Claudette Ferron, attorney for Victor Olivares, a cook aboard the ship.
During closing arguments, Ferron and other defense counsel touched on the facts that were presented by the 14 witnesses for the prosecution and nine for the defense. The Adriatik left Baranquilla, Colombia, with 800 tons of sugar headed to Suriname. The prosecution alleged that on Nov. 5, 1999, two tons of cocaine were transferred from a small boat onto the Adriatik outside of the Magdalena River by the 11 crew members.
Prosecutors charged that the men were informed of the details of the cargo before they sailed, but the defense argued that the illegal shipment was placed on board the Adriatik before the crew even boarded. And the transfer of the cocaine would have been nearly impossible on the choppy seas of the day in question, the defense argued.
"No one in their right mind would go through this elaborate scheme for $100 a month," said Fred Vialet, attorney for oiler Pedro Valdez. "And my client hasn't been adjudicated as insane."
On Tuesday, both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney said the responsibility for the acquitted crew members falls to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. INS Special Agent Kirk Thomas told the men that they have two choices: either be "removed by distress" with the funds to send them home provided by the government, or be placed in custody by the police as illegal immigrants, giving them a police record. Neither choice guarantees a set departure date.
"They drag them in here," said Ruth Miller, defense attorney for Leandro Farfan, "and now they don't know what to do with them."
Thomas said there's no way to avoid their further detainment. "All 11 subjects present now have no lawful admittance in the U.S. — we need some safeguard to make sure that the men leave U.S. soil," he said.
Thomas promised to contact the consulate of each of the men, and Ferron said she would fly with her client to San Juan to make sure he gets on a flight if it means he can get home quicker.
"I just want to get the hell out of here," said Valdez through an interpreter. "I've been here too long."
No date has been set for Perez-Oviedo and Sanchez to be sentenced for conspiracy — the one charge they pleaded guilty to in exchange for testifying for the prosecution.
