Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rncnris Rrsoit1io
O
nAugust6,2008IhadcontactedRachelBegley,thedaugh-
teiofRalphBogeiwhohadbeenkilledinaCabazon-ielated
tiiplehomicideinJune1981.AfteispeakingwithRachel,
itbecameappaientthattheieisanewgeneiationonthehoiizon,
thecowboysaieagingandonthewayout,andtheiilegacyofwai,
coiiuptionandgieedwillbelefttothehistoiybooks.Becausethe
Octopusanditstentaclescaiednothingfoithefutuie,itisunlikely
thattheiimachinewillsuivivethem.Rachelbelievedthatthiough
attiition, Ameiica will suivive this page in its histoiy, and emeige
wisei.InthefollowingmonthsRachelpiovedthatonewomancan
makeadieienceinclippingthetentaclesoftheOctopus.
Foi28yeaisRachelBegleywaitedfoithemuideiei(s)ofheifa-
thei,RalphBogei,42,FiedAlvaiez,32,vice-chaiimanoftheCaba-
zon Indian Tiibal Council, and Patiicia Castio, 44, to be biought
tojustice.
Foithieeofthoseyeais,Begleyactivelyinvestigatedtheexecu-
tion-style tiiple slaying while gatheiing documents and secietly
tapinginteiviewswithsuspectsandplacingthemonheiwebsite.
TeexecutionstookplaceonJune29,1981whileAlvaiez,Bogei
andCastioielaxedinthebackpatioofAlvaiezsientedhomeon
Bob Hope Diive in Rancho Miiage, Califoinia. Te thiee victims
eachweieshotwithasingle.38calibeibullettothehead,accoid-
ingtoanautopsyiepoit.Teieweienovisiblesignsofastiuggle.
TeiibodiesweiediscoveiedonJuly1byfoimeitiibalchaiiman
JoeBenitezandCabazonmembeiWilliamCallaway.
FiedAlvaiez,alongwithBenitezandCallaway,weiescheduled
tomeetat10.r.onJuly1withSteveRios,anattoineyinSanJuan
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394
Capistiano,toinitiateaninvestigationofCabazontiibalaaiis,ac-
coidingtotheIndio Daily Newsdated7-1-81.
Alvaiez, Benitez, and Calloway had pieviously divulged theii
ndings to Paul Zalis at the Daily News in May 1981 (cuiiently
knownastheDeseitSun),asseitingtotheiepoiteithattheyweie
maikedfoideath,buttheiistoiyneveigotpublished.
Te Indio Daily News did iepoit the subsequent killings of Al-
vaiez,BogeiandCastiohowevei.StawiiteiPaulZaliswiotethat
IndioCityManageiPhillipHawesconimedthatWilliamCole,a
LosAngeles-basedattoiney,hadbeenhiiedtoinvestigatepossible
linksbetweenthetiipleslayingsandtheCabazonCasino.Colesaid
hisocewascooidinatingeoitswiththeRiveisideCountyShei-
isDepaitmentininvestigatingthemuideis.Henotedthatshei-
isdeputieshadconscatedpapeisfiomtheAlvaiezhomeandhe
expectedocialstotuinthoseoveitohisoce.
Detective Goidon Huntei said the sheiis depaitment was
investigating leads into the Alvaiez slayings, but said he had no
knowledge of whethei deputies had conscated any of Alvaiezs
papeis,wioteZalis.
Alvaiezsmothei,Phyllis,toldtheIndio Daily Newsthatshebe-
lieved the muideis weie the iesult of a Maa contiact. She also
said hei son was killed because he was tiying to get the Cabazon
Casinoshutdown.
Rachel Begley was 13 yeais old when hei fathei, Ralph Bogei,
and his fiiends weie muideied. She nevei gave up hope that the
killeiswouldbepiosecuted,andconsistentlypioddedlocaljuiis-
dictionsoveiaspanofyeaistogetthecaseie-opened.Heieoits
weieiewaidedwhenDetectiveJohnPoweisattheRiveisideShei-
isdepaitmentwasassignedtothecold-caselein2007.
Teii iespective ndings iesemble the stu of spy novels,
compiised of all the malevolent dynamics of clandestine gov-
einmentagentsandoiganizedciimeguiesinvolvedinmuidei,
moneylaundeiingandcoveitaimsdealswhileexploitingIndian
soveieignty(independentofmostU.S.laws)attheCabazonies-
eivation.
Tetiiple-homicidecasewasoiiginallyinvestigatedbyDeputy
Attoiney Geneial Sanfoid Feldman and Special Agent Fiank E.
Biockiespectively,bothfiomthespecialinvestigationsunitofthe
state Depaitment of Justice, San Diego, Califoinia. Decades latei,
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395
Detective Poweis ie-opened the case based on the infoimation
piovidedbyRachelBegleyinNovembei2007.
IneailyAugust2008RachelBegleyintioducedmetoDetective
JohnPoweisattheRiveisideSheiisdepaitment.Poweishadbeen
woikingwithRachelontheAlvaieztiiple-homicidecold-casele
since2007,butthefewiemaininglawenfoicementpeoplewhohad
woikedthecasehaddimmemoiiesofthedetails28yeaislatei.
I wanted to help John and Rachel if I could, but by then I had
acquiiedsomuchinfoimationthatitwouldiequiieabooktoex-
plain it all to them. I didnt know wheie to begin, so I decided to
sendthema77-pageMatiixLinkAnalysisthatIhadcompiledin
2000 foi Kelly OMeaia which piovided signicant names in my
manusciiptandthelinkagestoeachothei,aname-baseofsoitsin
alphabeticaloidei.AlongwiththeMatiixIsenta10-pageoutline
of all the coipoiate stiuctuies, joint ventuies and opeiations that
ielatedtotheindividualsintheMatiix.
IthenbegansendingthemmateiialfiomtheRCMPinvestiga-
tionandDetectiveSueToddsndingsduiingtheiijoint8-month
piobeoftheOctopusin2000.InpaiticulaiIencouiagedDetective
PoweistogetcopiesofthePaulMoiascaHomicideInvestigation
FileCaseNo.82-1052505andtheDiGioigioExtiaditionFile
Case No. CR89-0603 VRW, U.S. veises Di Gioigio. Te Moiasca
leiepoitedlycontainedoveiathousandpagesdatingbacktothe
eaily1980sandiefeiencedtheAlvaiezmuideis.
Tee-mailsweieyingbackandfoithfoimonths,thenoneday,
onOctobei20,2008Iieceivedane-mailfiomPoweisthathehad
tiaveledtoSanFianciscoandobtainedcopiesofthePaulMoiasca
le. He said, Eveiything you said would be theie was theie, and
hewantedcopiesofmynotesoitypewiittenmemoiandumsfiom
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401
theMoiascaleiefeiencingatiansciiptofaconveisationbetween
RobeitBoothNichols(RBN)andPatiickKenneally,theinvestiga-
toiattheRiveisideDistiictAttoineysoceintheeaily1980sat
thetimeoftheAlvaiezmuideis.
IcalledPoweisandieadhimapoitionofmynotesonthephone
asfollows:ARiveisideinvestigatoinamedPatiickKenneally[in-
vestigatoi foi the Riveiside D.A.s oce] spoke to Robeit Booth
Nichols.AtiansciiptoftheconveisationindicatedthatKenneally
andNicholsjoustedbackandfoithfoiawhile,thenNicholsasked
Kenneally foi a copy of the FBI iepoit on himself. Kenneally ie-
fused. So RBN asked Kenneally what HE wanted? Kenneally said
hewantedevidenceagainstDi.JohnPhilipNicholsattheCabazon
IndianieseivationinIndio.Shoitlytheieaftei,Di.Nicholswasai-
iestedandconvictedonattemptedmuideiandielatedchaiges.
Inthetiansciipt,itiscleaithattheconveisationbetweenRBN
andKenneallywasiecoidedfiomatelephonecallthatRBNmade
to Kenneally. It begins with Kenneally answeiing the phone and
RBN saying, Hi Pat, how aie you? Petei [Zokosky] said I should
callyou. Tetwomenaieveiyfamiliaiwitheachotheiandyou
cantellfiomtheconveisationthattheytalkoften. Itisalsocleai
that Kenneally had no idea he was being tape-iecoided, though
anyonewhoknewRBNknewhetapeiecoidedallhiscalls,andhis
wife,Ellen,tiansciibedthem.
KenneallymadeunatteiingcommentsabouttheFBIsinvesti-
gationandsaidthathewasoideiedtotuineveiythingheleained
ovei to FBI Agent Rudy Valadez, whom he didnt tiust. (Valadez
woiked with FBI agent Robeit Baines, who handled Philip Ai-
thuiTompsonandMichaelRiconosciuto).Tisindicatedthatthe
FBIwasnotjustassistingintheinvestigation,buttookoveicontiol
ofthewholething.
TetypewiittentiansciiptofthisconveisationwassenttoDe-
tectiveEdEidelatzinSanFiancisco,whowoikedthePaulMoiasca
homicidecase,fiomtheSheiisstationinIndio,accoidingtothe
oiiginalmailingenvelopethatcontainedthetiansciipt.Tepost-
maikontheenvelopewastoofadedtobeiead,butDi.JohnPhilip
NicholswasaiiestedonJanuaiy16,1985,justsixmonthsafteithat
conveisationtookplace.
On Octobei 21, 2008, Detective Poweis wiote that he would
like to obtain copies of all my memoiandumsinotes on the Paul
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402
Moiascahomicidele.Poweissaidhebelievedthatthedocument
that Kenneally was oeiing RBN was the thiee-page FBI Repoit
onRBNdated12-02-82thatZokoskyshowedKellyOMeaiaand
meatouiinteiviewathishomeinFebiuaiy2001.SinceDi.Nich-
olswasaiiestedwithinmonthsofthatphonecall,itappeaiedthat
KenneallygavethememotoRBN,whothenpiovidedacopytohis
fiiend Zokosky, which I subsequently photogiaphed at Zokoskys
house.Howevei,ZokoskyhadtoldKellyandmethatRBNobtained
thatFBIiepoitfiomtheDOJ.
Poweis explained that the ieason he was inteiested in the
RBNiKenneally phone conveisation and who recorded it was be-
cause at that point, the FBI and DOJ had denied any knowledge
oftheAlvaieztiiplemuideicasetohim.Teyclaimedtheydidnt
haveacaseleoianydocumentationthattheyweieeveiinvolved
inthecase.
Poweiswiote:---Now,thisdoesntnecessaiilymeanImbeing
liedto,butitspossiblethepeopleImtalkingtoonthetelephone
aienotinapositiontohaveaccesstothisle.Isimplyhaventasked
the iight peison yet. I have a ton of documentation to piove that
theFBIandDOJweiebothassistingusinthisinvestigation. DOJ
AgentFiankBiockconductedseveialinteiviewsandIhavetwoof
hisiepoitswithaDOJiepoitnumbeiwiittenatthetop. DOJhas
no iecoid of that iepoit numbei and Agent Biock died ten yeais
ago,sohecantveiifyitfoime.
Accoidingtolegendandiumoi,PatiickKenneallyabiuptlyleft
theRiveisideDistiictAttoineysoceandmovedtoanotheistate
at some point aftei that conveisation with Robeit Booth Nichols
(RBN)tookplace.Repoitedly,noonewhohadwoikedtheAlvaiez
homicidecaseeveiheaidfiomhimagain.In2008,JohnPoweislo-
catedKenneallyandinteiviewedhim,asdidiepoiteiNathanBaca
atKESQ-TVinRiveisideCountywhowasalwaysbieathingdown
Poweisneck.
Kenneally nevei knew that conveisation with Robeit Booth
Nichols had been tape-iecoided until Poweis told him in 2009.
KenneallydeniedthatthemeetingwithRBNandtheexchangeof
documentseveitookplace.MaybeZokoskywascoiiectwhenhe
saidRBNobtainedtheFBIiepoitfiomtheDOJ?(Neailytwoyeais
latei, I leained fiom a foimei D.A. investigatoi and othei souic-
es who iecently inteiviewed Kenneally that the motivating factoi
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403
behindhisietiiementanddepaituiefiomIndiowasbecausetwo
meninsuitshadallegedlyshownhimphotosofhischildiengetting
otheschoolbus).
I had sent Detective John Poweis my notes on Kelly OMeaias
2-14-01inteiviewwithPeteiZokoskyinwhichZokoskyhadsaid
thatJimmyHughescametohimfoihelpandZokoskyconvinced
Hughes to talk to authoiities and had diiven Hughes to the Riv-
eisideDistiictAttoineysocetoiepoitwhatheknewaboutthe
Alvaiez tiiple-homicide. On June 20, 1984, Hughes had met with
DeputyAttoineyGeneialSanfoidFeldman(SpecialInvestigations
Unit,CalifoiniaDOJ),SpecialAgentFiankE.Biock(SpecialInves-
tigationsUnit,CalifoiniaDOJ),PatiickKenneally(investigatoifoi
theRiveisideD.A.soce),oceisfiomtheFiesnoPoliceandsev-
eialotheis,accoidingtoPeteiZokosky.Hugheshadbeengivena
polygiaphatthattime.(Accoidingtopoliceiepoits,GeneGilbeit
wasnotpiesentatthismeeting.InJuneof1984hewasaSeigeant
attheIndioPoliceDepaitment.Hesubsequentlybecameinvolved
in the Alvaiez tiiple-homicide case when he went to woik at the
D.A.soceasaninvestigatoi.)
DetectivePoweisfollowedupwithavisittoZokoskyshomein
Maich2009andnotonlyinteiviewedZokoskyfoifouihouis,but
obtaineda11wideby20longbankeisboxlabeledInslawcon-
tainingsomeofZokoskysaccumulateddocumentsoveitheyeais.A
DOJliaisonthatPoweiswoikedinteimittentlywithontheAlvaiez
case had accompanied Poweis to the Zokosky inteiview. Zokosky
hadoeiedtheboxofdocumentstoPoweisandPoweisagieedto
boiiowittomakecopiesandhewouldietuinitatalateidate.
In speaking with a souice close to the investigation, I leained
thatsomeoldcassettetapeshadbeenpiovidedtoPoweisbyZo-
kosky,oneofwhichwasthesametapethatZokoskyhadplayedfoi
KellyandmeatouiinteiviewwithhimiegaidingtheMoiascaho-
micideinwhichMichaelRiconosciutohadnaiiatedhisveisionof
theeventsleadinguptothedeathofPaulMoiascawhichinvolved
amoneylaundeiinganddiugopeiationinwhichtheFiesnochap-
teioftheHellsAngelsweieallegedlyused.
Anothei tape iecoiding contained the conveisation between
Patiick Kenneally and Robeit Booth Nichols ielative to the ex-
change of documents, i.e, the transcript that Poweis had found
in the Paul Moiasca le fiom S.F.P.D. RBN had taped that phone
TnrLs:Civcir
404
conveisationonJuly10,1984,EllenNicholshadtiansciibedit,and
both had been given to Zokosky foi safekeeping. Obviously Zo-
kosky had piovided that tiansciipt to (name-withheld) who sent
it to authoiities in Indio, who then foiwaided it to Detective Ed
Eidelatz in San Fiancisco. (Te initials J.L and a date at the top
oftheKenneallyiRBNtiansciiptintheMoiascalehadindicated
whoZokoskygavethetiansciiptto).
IncommunicatingwithJohnPoweisaboutthistuinofevents,
he commented, --- thank God foi Gene Gilbeit and his foie-
sight [in the 1980s] to make copies and send them to San Fian-
cisco to piotect them. Poweis suggested that poitions of the
RBNiKenneally taped conveisation might play a signicant iole
inafutuietiial.
ItisnotewoithythatPaulMoiascawasfounddead(muideied)
inhiscondoonJanuaiy14,1982byDetectiveEdEidelatzjustsix
monthsafteitheAlvaiezmuideis.Moiascahadbeenappointedto
becomethemanageiofthenewCabazonCasinopiioitohisdeath.
TismightexplainwhysomanyoftheAlvaieztiiple-homicideie-
poitsweieincludedintothePaulMoiascale.
OneiepoitwiittenbyGeneGilbeitdatedSeptembei17,1991,
sent to the House Judiciaiy Committee on Inslaw, stated that
the Cabazon Indians had computei access to law enfoicement
piogiams such as NCIC and NADDIS. Anothei section stated
that Wayne Reedei paid Jimmy Hughes between $200,000 and
$250,000 to leave the aiea. Gilbeit had told Kelly OMeaia that
PeteiZokoskyandWayneReedeiweieinvestoisintheCabazon
Casinoandaskeetiange.ButhesaidtheMobbuilttheCasinofoi
theCabazons.
In a lettei sent to Jimmy Hughes, dated Apiil 13, 1982, Phyllis
Riconosciuto,Michaelspieviouswife,hadcontiactedwithHughes
(andStevenBates)topiovidepiofessionalbody-guaidseivicesfoi
heihusband,Michael,foithepeiiodofApiil14,15,and16toyto
Fiesno,CalifoiniatoassistMichaeltogethisaaiisinoideiand
topiotectMichaelduiingthispeiioduntilhegoesintopiotective
custodywiththeFBIattheOakland[Califoinia]oce.
TeletteinotedthatMichaelRiconosciutowastomeetwithFBI
SpecialAgentRobeitBaines,andafteiAgentBainesassumedpio-
tection foi Riconosciuto, then Hughes and Bates could ietuin to
Palm Spiings. Te agieed upon at fee foi iendeiing this seivice
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
405
was$1,300includingaiifaie,hotelcostsandmeals.Teletteiwas
signedbybothPhyllisRiconosciutoandJimmyHughes.
TisletteiwouldindicatethatJimmyHugheshadeitheimetoi
knewFBIagentRobeitBaines.AccoidingtoDetectiveSueTodd,
whohadinteiviewedAgentBainesin2000,heconimedthathe
had been the handlei foi both Michael Riconosciuto and Philip
AithuiTompsoninalaigediugistingopeiationinSanFiancisco
(mentionedintheDiGioigiole).
Tisletteiwasalsowiittenduiingthetime(1982)thatMichael
RiconosciutowasinvolvedwithDi.JohnPhilipNichols,adminis-
tiatoiattheCabazonIndianieseivation,whowasapaitneiatthat
timeintheCabazoniWackenhutJointVentuietodevelopweapons
ontheieseivationwithRobeitBoothNicholsandPeteiZokosky.
TedateonthisletteitoJimmyHughes(Apiil1982)alsocoin-
cidedwithRiconosciutosclaimthathehadwoikedundeicovei(on
loanfiomtheFBI)foiFiesnopiosecutoiBiianLeightonwhowas
instiumentalinpiosecuting29membeisofadiugiaimsoiganiza-
tioncalledTeCompany.TeCompanyhadbeenwiittenupin
the San Francisco Chronicle on Apiil 28, 1982 undei the heading
StoiyofSpies,StolenAimsandDiugs.AccoidingtoiepoiteiBill
Wallace,TeCompanyconsistedof(quote)about300membeis,
manyofthemfoimeimilitaiymenoiex-policeoceiswithneaily
$30millionwoithofassets,includingplanes,shipsandiealestate.
Teaiticlewentontosaythatfedeialdiugagentssaidtheoi-
ganizationhadimpoitedbillionsofdollaiswoithofnaicoticsfiom
Latin Ameiica, and was also involved in guniunning and meice-
naiyopeiations.Specializedmilitaiyequipmentconsistingofnine
infiaied snipeiscopes, a television cameia foi taking pictuies in
daikness,1500ioundsofsmallaimstiaceiammunitionfoinight
combat, a ve-foot iemote-contiol helicoptei, and seciet compo-
nentsfiomtheiadaiunitofaSidewindeiguidedmissilehadbeen
stolenfiomtheU.S.NavalWeaponsStationatChinaLakeinthe
MojaveDeseit.
DetectiveJohnPoweismentionedinane-mailcommunication
on Novembei 27, 2009 that he had found a hand-wiitten Time
Line in Petei Zokoskys box of documents, cieated by Zokosky,
whichoutlinedachionologyofeventsbeginningin1981andend-
ingin1985.TiswasthesamedocumentthatIhadpiovidedtoRa-
chelBegleymonthseailieiwhichZokoskyhadgivenmeyeaisago.
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406
Poweissaidthetime-linewasveiyhelpful:Peteiusedhiswifes
day-by-daycalendaiandwiotedownalloftheimpoitantdatesthat
hecouldnd. InowhavethedatethatWayneReedeidioveJimmyto
theaiipoitsohecouldeetoCentialAmeiica. Ihavethedatethat
PeteiaccompaniedDi.NicholstoCanadafoitheValleyeldmeet-
ing,whichpiovesNicholswasoutofthecountiyduiingtheAlvaiez
muideis. Teieaiesomeotheiveiyimpoitantdatesthathelpedme
toguieoutwhenceitainthingshappened,wiotePoweis.
InlookingattheZokoskytime-lineinmyle,IfoundthatZo-
kosky and Nichols had tiaveled togethei to the Valleyeld meet-
inginCanadafiomJune22toJune30,1981.Anotheinotationin
Zokoskystime-linelabeled,Te$30,000Capei,indicatedthatin
May1984alaigesumofcashintheamountof$30,000waswith-
diawnfiomtheBingoPalace1
st
TiustBankaccount.
InlookingatKellyOMeaiasnotesfiomaninteiviewwithJohn
Belton in Canada, who had been Detective Sue Todd and RCMP
Sean McDades mutual souice, I noticed a statement made by
BeltoniegaidingthetiiptoCanadabyDi.JohnNicholsandPetei
ZokoskyinwhichtheyweieinvolvedinthepuichaseofValleyeld
ChemicalCoipoiationinCanadainMay1981.Beltonhadsaid,
---Dr. Nichols used people in Canada to make sure he had an alibi
when the Alvarez people were murdered on Bob Hope Drive.
Tis was an inteiesting statement because the Canadian meet-
ings weie outlined in a Wackenhut Intei-Oce Memoiandum I
hadfoundinMichaelRiconosciutoslesinthedeseit,datedMay
25,1981,fiomRobeitFiye,aVicePiesidentofWackenhutinIn-
dio, to Robeit Chasen, a Vice Piesident of Wackenhut in Coial
Gables(andfoimeiCommissioneiofU.S.Customs).Anotationin
the Wackenhut memoiandum iefeiied to the pioposed puichase
ofValleyeldChemicalPioductsCoipoiationinValleyeld,Que-
bec,neaiMontieal,Canada.
Valleyeld had gone into ieceiveiship when its ownei, Geiald
Bull,wasjailedintheUnitedStatesfoiillegallyshippingweapons
toSouthAfiica.(BullhaddevelopedtheoiiginalPiojectBabylon
supei iail gun foi the Iiaqi goveinment and was iepoitedly as-
sassinated by the Isiaeli Mossad in Maich 1990). Te Canadian
goveinmenttookpossessionofValleyeldandsoldittoaconsoi-
tium headed by Welland Chemicals Ltd. of Mississauga on Apiil
7,1981.
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
407
TeWackenhutmemoiandumoutlinedaninteiesttopuichase
ValleyeldChemicalbyDi.JohnNicholswithaBaiiyZuckeiman
andChailesF.Agai,bothCanadiancitizens,whoweieinvolvedin
aCanadianimcalledMineialResouicesInteinationalLimited,as
wellasbothbeinginvolvedinCanadiannancialinstitutions.
Di. [John] Nichols envisions that the iole of the
CabazoniWackenhut Joint Ventuie should the Zuckeiman-Agai
gioup be successful in puichasing this plant, would be to seive
asthefoieignmaiketingiepiesentativefoitheplant,tohavethis
giouppossiblynancetheestablishmentofthecasingiloadingfa-
cilityontheCabazonieseivation,andtohavethecapabilitytocon-
ductR&D[ReseaichandDevelopment]foithegioupintheaima-
mentindustiy,notedthememoiandum.
AmeetinghadbeensetupinOttawa,Canadaat9:00.r.,May
26, 1981 involving Di. John Philip Nichols, Fiank Agai, F. Toin-
buig,A.R.FiyeandmembeisoftheCanadianMunitionsBoaidto
discusscapitalinvestmentintheValleyeldplant,accoidingtothe
memoiandum.
In Petei Zokoskys handwiitten time-line, he noted a tiip to
CanadawithDi.JohnNicholsonJune22thioughJune30,1981.Di-
iectlynexttothatnotationweiethewoidsincapitalletteis,FRED
KILLED.ZokoskylateiexplainedthatDi.Nicholshadstayedback
in Canada, iathei than ietuin to Califoinia on June 30
th
with Zo-
kosky.NicholsexcusefoistayinginCanadawasweakandmadeno
sensetoZokoskyatthetime.
Fied Alvaiez, Ralph Bogei and Patti Castio weie executed on
June29,1981,soDi.Nicholshadanalibifoihiswheieaboutsatthe
timeofthemuideis.
OveitheyeaisIhadaccumulatedaleofdocumentspeitaining
toJimmyHughesactivitiesinthe1980s,whichIsubsequentlypio-
videdtoRachelBegleyandshepiesumablypiovidedthemtoJohn
Poweis.SomeofthesedocumentspiovidedawindowintoHughes
alteinatingielationshipwithDi.JohnNichols,WayneReedei,and
otheiindividualsinvolvedwiththeCabazonsatthattime.
On Apiil 4, 1983, John Paul Nichols, Di. Nichols son, who
was by then the Cabazon Aims CabazoniWackenhut Joint
VentuiePiojectManagei,wiotealetteitotheAimyDischaige
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408
ReviewBoaidaskingfoiHughesmilitaiyiecoidbecauseheie-
quiied secuiity cleaiances to woik in the CabazoniWackenhut
JointVentuie.
WioteNichols:Mi.JamesHughesJi.hasbeeninouiemploy-
mentfoioveithieeyeais.Hehasbeeninstiumentalindeveloping
ouiieseivationsecuiityfoiceaswellaspiovidingsupeiioitiaining
inlawenfoicementtechniques,safetyandsundiiestoouiemploy-
ees. He was a key peison in developing, oiganizing and secuiity
nancingfoiasuccessfultiapandskeetiangeontheCabazonIn-
dianieseivation.
Nichols fuithei wiote that Hughes had shown himself to be a
man of supeiioi qualities and unusual matuiity foi someone his
age. In addition, Hughes was becoming moie and moie involved
intheJointVentuiewithWackenhutSeivicesandwouldsoonbe-
comeinvolvedinmatteiswheieasecuiitycleaianceisnecessaiy
involving goveinment contiacts. Hughes militaiy iecoid would
haveadiiectbeaiingonwhetheihewouldqualifyfoitheneeded
secuiitycleaiances.AithuiWelmas,theTiibalChaiiman,hadalso
signedtheletteionHughesbehalf.
Howevei,Hughescaieeitookadivein1984.ByFebiuaiy1984,
Jimmy Hughes had left Nichols employment and went to woik
foiWayneReedei.ByJune1984,Hugheshadbeenteiminatedby
Reedei and Reedei was suing him in a Riveiside Supeiioi Couit
CivilAction(IndioNo.41885)foiallegedlythieateninghislife.
Hughesiespondedinacouitdocumentthathehadsimplybeen
attemptingtocollectadebtowedtohimbyReedeionSeptembei
13,1984atameetingwithReedeiandPeteiZokosky.
HughessaidinhiscouitDeclaiationthatthepiobablepuipose
foiReedeisinjunctiveieliefagainstHugheswastodiscredit and
destroy my prospective testimony in criminal cases currently under
investigation which are to be brought against a business associate of
the plaintis [Dr. John Philip Nichols] and quite probably against
the plainti himself should sucient data be generated in the future
to establish his knowing participation in these criminal activities
--- On page six of his Declaiation, Hughes said he expected to
testifyagainstDi.Nicholsinacouitoflawonchaigesagainsthim
ofconspiiacytocommitmuidei.
Hughes outlined that he was employed at the Cabazon Indian
CasinoandBingoPalaceconcuiientlyfiomappioximatelyFebiu-
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
409
aiy 1980 thiough Febiuaiy 1984. Duiing this peiiod of my em-
ploymentbythesetwoentities,Di.JohnPhilipNicholsallegedthat
theyweie,inpait,fiontsfoiUnitedStatesgoveinmentsanctioned
coveitmilitaiyactivitiesandaimsshipmentstoCentialandSouth
Ameiica. --- ovei a peiiod of time I became awaie of a seiies
of activities by Di. John Philip Nichols and othei membeis of his
family(whoaiealsoemployedtheie)whichmademeiealizethat
theiiactivitiesweieciiminal(includingissuingcontiactstocom-
mit muidei) and weie not goveinmental in natuie as Di. Nichols
hadalleged---,hedeclaied.
Hughesfuitheistatedthatwhenheieachedafulliealizationof
whatDi.NicholswasinvolvedinattheCabazonIndianCasinoand
Bingo Palace, he seveied his connection with them and accepted
employment fiom Wayne Reedei, who thiough his coipoiation
BingoPavilion,Inc.hadmadea$230,000investmentintheCaba-
zongamblingenteipiise. Reedei piomised Hughes thathewould
sethimupinasecuiitybusinesstobeownedjointlybyReedeiand
Hughes, including a piomise that he would secuie contiacts foi
thenewcompanywiththeIndianPalmsCountiyClubwhichwas
ownedbyReedei.
Reedei had allegedly conded to Hughes that Di. Nichols and
familyweieskimmingpiotsothetopofthegamblingenteipiise
in oidei to avoid taxes and avoid making the contiacted payments
to Bingo Pavilion, Inc. owned by Reedei. Reedei asked Hughes to
ietuintotheCabazongamblingopeiationsattheieseivationsohe
(Hughes)couldmonitoithegiossieceiptsandiepoitbacktoReedei.
Howevei,HughessubsequentlyleainedthatNicholsandReedei
hadmadeadealinwhichReedeiwouldgetiidofhim(Hughes)
so that he couldnt make Nichols illegal activities known. An at-
tached Exhibit B was wiitten by John Paul Nichols (Di. Nichols
son)toWayneReedeiandhisattoineyiemindingReedeithathe
hadmadeanagieementwiththeNicholsfamilythatJimmyHughes
would be gone sometime between May 12, 1984 and May 14,
1984,andthatHugheswasgoingtoopenasecuiitybusinesssome-
wheie. Aithui Welmas, Tiibal Chaiiman, had iepoited to Nich-
olsthatHugheswasseencomingoutofhisapaitmentonMay17,
andtheii(theTiibalCouncil)patiencewasweaiingthin.JohnPaul
Nicholsconcludedtheletteibysaying,Isuggestthatyoustickto
youidealwiththeoceisofCabazonBingo,Inc.
TnrLs:Civcir
410
John Patiick McGuiie had also woiked foi Wayne Reedei and
piovidedaDeclaiationonHughesbehalf.OnepaiagiaphinMc-
GuiiesDeclaiationnotedthathehadspokenwithReedeislawyei,
ClayWeed,onoiaboutMay23,1984andMi.Weedhadsaid:Its
notinMi.ReedeisinteiesttodoanythingabouttheNicholssoi
theiiillegalactivitiesattheBingoopeiationbecausetodosowould
jeopaidizeMi.Reedeisinvestment.(Reedeihadallegedlyinvest-
ed$230,000intheCabazongamblingenteipiiseatthattime).
HughesstatedinhiscouitDeclaiationthatheiemainedinReed-
eis employ until about June 1984, then Reedei teiminated him at
Nicholsinsistence.Hugheshadalieadyinitiatedaseiiesofcontacts
withvaiiouslawenfoicementagenciestoiepoitwhatheknewcon-
ceining Nichols illegal activities, including solicitation of muidei.
HughessaidthedayafteihevisitedtheRiveisideDistiictAttoineys
oceinApiil1984,heieceivedadeaththieatinthefoimofagiue-
somephotogiaph(inanenvelope)attachedtothewindshieldofhis
cai.TephotogiaphwaspiovidedasanExhibitC.
OnApiil15,Hugheshadbeentoldbyafiiendthattheiewasa
contiact on his life. Shoitly theieaftei, Petei Zokosky ieceived a
phonecalltothesameeect.Hughesalsodiscoveiedthata$30,000
withdiawal had been made by John Paul Nichols fiom the Bingo
Palacesaccountbycheckpayabletocashatthatsametime.
Hughes stated that since that time, the California Department
of Justice had oered him participation in their Witness Protection
Program due to the threats and his cooperation with them.Reedei
had teiminated him in June 1984 and he had since moved to Los
Angeles.
On Septembei 13, 1984 Hughes had a meeting with Wayne
Reedei and Petei Zokosky at Reedeis oce at the Indian Palms
Countiy Club. Hughes demanded that Reedei make good on his
piomises, but Reedei said that wasnt feasible anymoie. Hughes
pointed out that Di. Nichols had placed a contiact on his life, as
wellasReedeis:---Youknowtheieaiecontiactsonbothofus.
IfIdie,sowillyou.WayneReedeitookthatasathieatandsued
JimmyHughesfoiallegedlythieateninghislife.
Hughes subsequently talked to Keith Caitei, the Indio Daily
News Managing Editoi, about his dissatisfaction with the vaiious
lawenfoicementagenciesheandZokoskyhadpiovidedinfoima-
tiontoduiingthepastfouimonths.Imnotgoingtosayanything
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
411
else to them, he explained. All they (the local and state law en-
foicementagencies)caieaboutistheiiownjuiisdiction.Tecase
istoobigfoithemtoseethewholepictuie.Teycanthandleit.
Hughes said that he had been in contact with fedeial ocials in
WashingtonD.C.,whoweieinteiestedinthecase.Imnotatlib-
eitytosaywhoImtalkingto,butitsobviousthestateofCalifoinia
needshelp,hesaid.
AfteiJimmyHughesaiiest,RachelBegleywasbesiegedwith
mediaiequestsfoiinteiviews,aswasJohnPoweis.Johngenei-
ally defeiied the media to Rachel, so hei stoiy became widely
knowntotheLos Angeles Times,AssociatedPiess,NBCNews,
Good Morning America, and some local media such as KESQ-
TV in Palm Deseit and Te Deseit Sun newspapei which cov-
eied the aiea wheie the tiiple homicide occuiied. Rachel was
appioached by television pioduceis (Dateline and the Lifetime
channel)foithestoiyofheilife,alaEiinBiockovich-style,and
last known, she was tiying to negotiate with a big-scieen lm
piomoteiwithoutaLiteiaiyAgenttoiepiesenthei.Oddly,the
agentsshehadappioacheddidnttakethetimetoiespondtohei
queiies.
TnrLs:Civcir
420
Inaddition,thenewsstoiiesleftoutoneofthemostsignicant
contiibutionsthatRachelmadetotheinvestigation,whichwashei
extiaoidinaiy computei expeitise. John Poweis once wiote that
heiabilitywasawesome,hehadgiowntoappieciateheitiacking
skills. On moie than one occasion I had asked hei to locate indi-
vidualsthatIneededtointeiview(whichIhadalieadyspenthouis
tiyingtolocateontheInteinet),andwithinminutesshepiovided
theiihome,woikande-mailaddiesses,includingphonenumbeis.
Shecouldevensendasatellitephotoofwhattheiihouselookedlike.
Duiingheiinvestigation, beforeJimmyHughesaiiest,Rachels
websiteatDeseitfae.comattiactedobseiveisfiomallpointsofthe
spectium.Shehasalaigefamilywhichkeepsheibusyduiingthe
day,butlateatnightwecommunicatedbackandfoithandIwasas-
tonishedatwhatshewasabletotiackthioughheiwebsite.TeDe-
paitmentofJusticehadvisitedonnumeiousoccasions,membeis
of the Cabazon tiibe and ielated casino people, known membeis
ofoiganizedciime,policedepaitments,fiiendsofJimmyHughes,
includingHugheshimself,the Federal Reserve Bank, attorneys for
people being investigated, the Saudi government, multiple military
bases, various state government offces (CA, NV, AZ, NY) along
with a vaiiety of iepoiteis and othei inteiested folks who spent
houissuingthioughheidocumentsandvideos.
In mid-Octobei, aftei Jimmy Hughes aiiest, Rachel began ie-
ceiving thieats fiom people who seemed to have been close to
HughesoiweiemembeisofhisoiganizationinHonduias.Howev-
ei,asidebenetofthesubstantialnewscoveiagecameinthefoim
of an e-mail fiom a Honduian souice who ievealed that Hughes
was a close fiiend and asesoi (Spanish foi advisoi) of Romeo
VsquezVelsquez,whowasallegedlyalsoamembeiofFGBMFI.
Te souice added that Jimmy Hughes had assisted with the plan-
ningoftheHonduiascoup.
It was tiue, accoiding to news accounts, that the inteiim de-
factopiesidentofHonduias, RobeitoMicheletti,hadbeenplaced
in oce by coup leadeis Geneial Romeo Vsquez Velsquez and
Geneial Daniel Lopez Caiballo, both fiiends of hit-man Jimmy
Hughes, and at least two of these men, possibly all thiee, weie in
fact membeis of FGBMFI. Both of the above Honduian geneials
had also been tiained at the School of the Ameiicas. http://soaw.
org/pressrelease.php?id=144
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
421
An Inteinet seaich of Velsquez pioduced a Wikipedia site
that said Romeo Vsquez Velsquez was a Biigadiei Geneial and
head of the aimed foices of Honduias who was sacked by Piesi-
dent Manuel Zelaya on June 25, 2009 foi iefusing to allow the
aimed foices to help in conducting an iefeiendum on a consti-
tutional change pioposed by Piesident Zelaya.
He attended the
School of the Ameiicas (SOAiWHINSEC) at least twice, in 1976
and 1984 and expands the numbei of SOAiWHINSEC giaduates
whohaveoveithiownheadsofstate.http:iien.wikipedia.oigiwikii
Romeo_VC3A1squez_VelC3A1squez
In looking up School of the Ameiicas, I came upon the fol-
lowing: Te School of the Ameiicas (SOA), in 2001 ienamed the
Westein Hemispheie Institute foi Secuiity Coopeiation, is a
combattiainingschoolfoiLatinAmeiicansoldieis,locatedatFoit
Benning, Geoigia. Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was
kickedoutofthatcountiyin1984undeitheteimsofthePanama
Canal Tieaty. Foimei Panamanian Piesident, Joige Illueca, stated
thattheSchooloftheAmeiicaswasthebiggestbasefoidestabili-
zationinLatinAmeiica.TeSOA,fiequentlydubbedtheSchool
ofAssassins,hasleftatiailofbloodandsueiingineveiycountiy
wheieitsgiaduateshaveietuined.
Oveiits59yeais,theSOAhastiainedovei60,000LatinAmeii-
cansoldieisincounteiinsuigencytechniques,snipeitiaining,com-
mando and psychological waifaie, militaiy intelligence and intei-
iogationtactics.Tesegiaduateshaveconsistentlyusedtheiiskills
towageawaiagainsttheiiownpeople.Amongthosetaigetedby
SOAgiaduatesaieeducatois,unionoiganizeis,ieligiouswoikeis,
student leadeis, and otheis who woik foi the iights of the pooi.
Hundieds of thousands of Latin Ameiicans have been toituied,
iaped,assassinated,disappeaied,massacied,andfoicedintoiefu-
geebythosetiainedattheSchoolofAssassins.http:iiwww.soaw.
oigitype.php?type=8
As noted eailiei, foimei Commanding Geneial Daniel Lopez
Caiballo of Honduias, a membei of FGBMFI and keynote speakei
withJimmyHughesthatdayinFebiuaiy2008,wassubsequentlywiit-
tenupinaSpanishspeakingnewspapeiasthedesigner of the mili-
tary strategy of the coupthattookplaceinHonduiasinJune2009.
FiomtheHonduianmilitaiyspointofview,theU.S.hadastake
in the coup as well. Retiied Geneial Daniel Lpez Caiballo told
TnrLs:Civcir
422
CNNthatthecoupwaswaiiantedbecauseVenezuelanPiesident
Chvez would be iunning Honduias by pioxy if the militaiy had
notacted.TeoustedpiesidentofHonduias,Manuel Zelaya,had
been in the piocess of foiming a fiiendship oi alliance with Ven-
ezuelan piesident Hugo Chvez, who accoiding to news iepoits,
hadalieadyfoimedanalliancewithIianandoeiedmilitaiysup-
poittoIianintheevent thatIianwenttowaiwiththeU.S.
TeU.S.opeiatesanaiibaseinHonduias(seeTeSotoCanoAii
Basebelow)whichitiscontinuingtoexpandwithmajoiupgiades
in2009. TeinfiastiuctuieoftheSotoCanoAiiBaseissuchthat
the Honduian Constitution does not peimit a peimanent foieign
piesence in Honduias. A handshake agieement between the
United States and Honduias allows the U.S. militaiys Joint Task
Foice(JTF-Biavo)toiemaininHonduiasonasemi-peimanent
basis. Tis agieement, an annex to the 1954 militaiy assistance
agieementbetweentheUnitedStatesandHonduias,canbeabio-
gatedwithlittlenotice.
If piesident Zelaya had sided with Hugo Chvez militaiily,
then the U.S. could have lost that aiibase in Honduias. (Olivei
Noith once used this aii base as a base of opeiations foi the U.S.
backedContias inthe1980s).
Te Soto Cano Aii Base (commonly known as Palmeiola Aii
Base)isajointHonduiasandUnitedStatesmilitaiybaseneaiCo-
mayaguainHonduias,about60 miles(97 km)fiomtheHonduian
capitalofTegucigalpa.AlaigeconcentiationofU.S.tioopsandthe
HonduianAiiFoiceacademyusetheaiibase.Teaiibasebecame
opeiational in 1981. Now the U.S. militaiy uses Soto Cano as a
launchingpointfoiitswaiondiugseoitsinCentialAmeiicaas
wellashumanitaiianaidmissionsthioughoutHonduiasandCen-
tialAmeiica.
Inaddition,theUSmilitaiysJointTaskFoiceBiavo(JTF-B)is
headquaiteied at Soto Cano. JTF-B consists of Medical Element
MilitaiyHospital,AimyFoices,AiiFoiceFoices,JointSecuiity
Foices,andthe1stBattalion-228thAviationRegiment(consisting
of some 18 aiiciaft, a mix of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopteis and
CH-47 Chinook helicopteis). http:iien.wikipedia.oigiwikiiSoto_
Cano_Aii_Base
Te inuential Full Gospel Business Mens Fellowship Inteina-
tional (FGBMFI) has a histoiy all its own. Piominent iight-wing
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
423
activists,suchasJosephCoois(HeiitageFoundation)andSanfoid
McDonnell (McDonnell Douglas Coipoiation) weie membeis of
FGBMFI.FoimeiPiesidentRonaldReaganhadclosetieswithFG-
BMFI. In 1970, ve FGBMFI membeis, including Pat and Shiiley
Boone,HaioldBiedesen,andGeoigeOtis,piayedwiththen-Cali-
foiniaGoveinoiReaganathishomeinSaciamento.Otis,afoimei
Leai executive, was oveicome with the Spiiit and began to speak
in the voice of God. He compaied Reagan to a king, and pioph-
esied that Reagan would ieside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue if
he continued to walk in Gods way. Reagan iepoitedly took the
piophecy veiy seiiously. A Reagan Aide who latei woiked on Pat
Robeitsonspiesidentialcampaign,invitedNitaScoggan,thewife
ofaFGBMFImembei,tofoimapiayeigioupintheWhiteHouse.
Repoitedly,Col.OliveiNoithattendedthepiayeimeetings.http:ii
www.cephas-libiaiy.comichuich_n_stateichuich_n_state_pio-
les_of_u.s.piivate.gov_oiganizations_and_chuiches.html
Te stiong FGBMFI militaiy connections had a wide-ianging
eectonfoieignpolicyinCentialAmeiicaundeitheReaganad-
ministiation.Since1964,FGBMFIhadheldiegulaimilitaiypiayei
meetings in the Washington D.C. aiea. At one point theie weie
thieechapteistheie,includingoneintheNavyOceisClub,and
theSecietaiyofDefenseevenaiiangedtohavetwopiayeiiooms
builtinthePentagon.A1986FGBMFIbiochuielistedoveiadozen
militaiynames,afewofwhichweietheChaiimanofJointChiefs
ofSta,theCommandantoftheMaiineCoips,theChiefofNaval
Opeiations,theChiefofStaoftheAimy,andtheChiefofStaof
theAiiFoice.
In Cential Ameiica, Piesident Reagan suppoited Geneial Ros
Montt,aPentecostaltiuebelievei,whobecamepiesidentofGua-
temala in an aimy coup in Maich 1982, and was aided and sup-
poitedbyFullGospelbusinessmanJohnCaiiette,afoimeiAimy
Rangei in Vietnam and vocal suppoitei of Rios Montt. Accoid-
ingtoCaiiette,thethenpiesidentsofGuatemala,ElSalvadoiand
HonduiasweieallFullGospel.
CaiiettelateibecametheExecutiveVicePiesidentofFGBMFI
andhelpedsetupJimmyHughesinHonduias.Hughes,alsoafoi-
meiAimyRangei,wioteathisFGBMFIwebsitethatCaiietteew
fiom Guatemala to meet him in Los Angeles. --- In 1987, John
Caiiette god-fatheied me into the Full Gospel Business Mens
TnrLs:Civcir
424
Fellowship, and I have been in the Fellowship evei since. I live in
Honduias. I have a wife and two childien, and we have a minis-
tiycalledFieetheOppiessed----. http:iiwww.fgbmvoice.comi
stoiiesi996hughes.htm
RosMonttstiestotheUnitedStatesmilitaiywentbackto1950
when he giaduated as a cadet at the School of the Ameiicas in
thePanamaCanalZone,whichatthattimeeducatedstudentsin
counteiinsuigencytacticsfoithepuiposeofcombatingpotential
communistinuenceintheiegion.TeFGBMFIfellowshipen-
teiedGuatemalain1952,itsdiiectoisweieleadingbusinessmen,
mediapeopleandmilitaiyoceis,includingafoimeiministeiof
defense.
By 1982 Geneial Ros Montt was best known outside Guate-
malafoiheadingamilitaiyiegime(19821983)thatwasinvolved
in some of the woist atiocities of Guatemalas 36-yeai civil wai.
GivenRosMonttsstaunchanticommunismandtiestotheUnited
States, the Reagan administiation continued to suppoit the gen-
eialandhisiegime,payingavisittoGuatemalaCityinDecembei
1982.DuiingameetingwithRosMonttonDecembei4,Reagan
declaied:PiesidentRosMonttisamanofgieatpeisonalintegiity
andcommitment....Iknowhewantstoimpiovethequalityoflife
foiallGuatemalansandtopiomotesocialjustice.
Reaganlateiagieed,inJanuaiy1983,tosellGuatemalamillions
of dollais woith of helicoptei spaie paits, a decision that did not
iequiieappiovalfiomCongiess.Intuin,Guatemalawaseageito
iesuiiect the Cential Ameiican Defense Council, defunct since
1969, in oidei to join foices with the iight-wing goveinments of
El Salvadoi and Honduias in ietaliations against the leftist San-
dinista goveinment of Nicaiagua. http:iien.wikipedia.oigiwikii
EfiaC3ADn_RC3ADos_Montt.
But Rios Montts extieme veision of Chiistian fundamental-
ismwashuitlingoutofcontiol,evenbyGuatemalanstandaids.In
August 1983, Gen. Oscai Mejia Victoies seized powei in anothei
coup. In 1984 ietiied Geneial Montt spoke at a FGBMFI woild
convention,andRonaldReagansucceededinpiessuiingCongiess
toappiove$300,000inmilitaiytiainingfoitheGuatemalanaimy.
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
425
In a Spanish aiticle fiom the Honduian newspapei La Prensa,
Hughesopenlydiscussedhisbloodypast.Itwasanastoundingsto-
iy.CleailyhefeltwellinsulatedinCentialAmeiica,givenhisties
tomilitaiygeneialsandthepoweifulFGBMFIinthataieaofthe
woild. It appeais that most of the quotes in the La Prensa aiticle
weiedeiivedfiomaVertice, Newspaper of Today(ElSalvadoi)ai-
ticlepublishedonJuly6,2003.
Title:Jimmy Hughes From CIA operative and maa hitman to
evangelical pastor, by Jessica Figeioa. (Tianslated fiom Spanish
toEnglishbelow).
Fiom La PrensainHonduias10i5i09:(exceipted)
Talkingabouthisdaikpastwasalwayspaitofhistestimony
as a confeience speakei. Despite the new life that he found
in God, he yet seems to have unsettled scoies with justice.
Tingscaughtupwithhim28yeaislatei.
Te Rev. Jimmy Hughes is the foundei of the Gateway of
Hope(PueitadeEzspeianza)RehabilitationCentei,whichies-
cuesyouthgangmembeisinHonduias,andisalsopiesident
ofFieeTeOppiessedMinistiies,establishedinZambiano.
HewasaiiestedlastSatuidayattheMiamiInteinational
AiipoitashepiepaiedtotiaveltoHonduias.
HeisaccusedofbeinginvolvedintheOctopusMuideis
thatoccuiiedin1981inCalifoinia.
Te victims of an execution-style shot to the head weie:
Fied Alvaiez, 32, Patty Castio, 44, and Ralph Bogei, 42, ac-
coiding to the Riveiside County Sheii, Dennis Gutieiiez.
Hugheshadaiiestwaiiants.
The CIA trained him, the FBI protected him
Te Salvadoiian newspapei El Diario de Hoy published on
July 6 of 2003, an inteiview with Hughes, in which he de-
sciibed his life befoie joining the ianks of the CIA. He also
mentions how he ended up being an elite militaiy-tiained
hitmanfoitheMaa,untilGodiescuedhim.
Excerpts from Jimmy Hughes 2003 interview:
The end of the Vietnam War in 1973 marked the beginning of
my military career. My instructors and teachers were American
fghters who survived operations against the Vietcong. I was 17
years old and aspired to climb the ladder in the military.
TnrLs:Civcir
426
I enrolled in each course no matter how hard it was. I at-
tended schools in parachuting, scuba diving, escape and res-
cue operations, as a prisoner of war, resistance and survival in
jungle, sea and desert environments. I specialized in plastic ex-
plosives and as a sniper. In six years, the military training that
I received, including the Rangers and Delta Force, transformed
me into an elite soldier.
At the age of 23, I began working for the CIA in covert mis-
sions outside the United States. In Asian countries, Europe and
South America, I fought to defend the rights of others. I helped
people who wanted to be free and to fght dictators. The US
Army did not train me to be a cold-blooded killer, but to defend
my country and the enemies of democracy and freedom.
After several secret missions, I left the CIA, and four years
later (1984), I left the Army and went to live a quiet life in Cali-
fornia, never imagining that my bloodiest were yet to come.
Collecting tributes
While serving in the military, I had an Italian friend who often
spoke to me about a Padrino (Godfather), and I never paid
much attention; I thought those were just things you see in the
movies.
My frst job in the mob was collecting money from those who
did not pay their bills, and that included broken legs, arms and
heads with baseball bats.
Although the Army I had already gotten a taste of what it was
like to kill, with the mob, I offered my talent for gifts or money.
I would murder someone for fve, ten, twenty, thirty, forty thou-
sand dollars. The most I got paid for killing somebody was ffty
thousand dollars, because it was professionally done. This was
how at age 27, I sold myself to evil.
I became the confdant of the Godfather, who was in the busi-
ness of casinos. I was the bodyguard for his children. I became
a famous hitman for the mafa; everybody in the United States
asked for Jimmy Hughes.
By that time I was addicted to cocaine. I loved cocaine. I
had a terrible addiction; I would always carry the drug in my
pockets. I drank hard liquor all day. I always had terrible night-
mares because I had shed enough blood to fll a pool.
Free Death
One day, the Godfather called me and gave me an order to kill a
suspect for thirty thousand dollars. To my surprise, I knew this
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
427
guy; we used to be friends. But in the mafa, business is busi-
ness. When I arrived at the guys home, I was no longer a nor-
mal person; I had been exposed to so much violence that I had
become a demon. I said hi to the guy and went into his house.
He never imagined that he had just opened the door to death.
But inside the mansion, there were fve other people who were
drinking and snorting cocaine. I thought, I must get this done
for the $30,000 that I was being paid; however, I did not know
who the other fve were. Then I thought to myself that I would
do a service to society by doing them all. The other fve would
be added to the contract for free.
The night began to fall and when I took my gun out, no one
noticed it because they were too drugged and drunk. They were
all talking nonsense, so I began: Bang, bang, bang
Everyone around me was dead within seconds; no one
moved. They were totally unprepared; no one was expecting to
die. I had shot all of them in the head. But right after it all hap-
pened, and as I was still holding the gun in my hand, between a
pool of blood, I would see shattered face of the man that I was
paid to kill, and it would feel as though I would see my refec-
tion in a mirror.
The hairs in the back of my neck stood up as I saw my own
bloody image. At the same time, I began to hear a voice say,
Jimmy: You know that I love you and I forgive you. I said
to myself: Oh God, Im either going crazy or I did too many
drugs and I had killed so many people in my life.
In that horrifc scene, I somewhat laughed, but then big chills
came down my spine.
My heart almost stopped. Then I heard the same voice again:
Jimmy: You know that I love you and I forgive you. Then, I
ran out of the place, leaving half a dozen dead for thirty thou-
sand dollars.
Trapped in the solitude of my home, I took the phone and
decided to call my mother, who was as a Christian missionary
in Guatemala.
Listen, I said to her, I do not know if the FBI is going to
catch me or if I should turn myself in. I dont know if Im going
to go to jail or if the mafa is going to kill me, but I want you
to pray for me. I will not die or go to jail without setting things
right with God.
She prayed intensely for me over the telephone line from
Guatemala, with me in California, and God in heaven. It was
TnrLs:Civcir
428
then when I frst experienced the immense power of prayer, a
power greater than any weapon ever held in my hands.
From the mafa to the FBI
The next day, I went to see the Godfather and told him I wanted
to quit, and that I would never kill anyone anymore and wanted
to be alone.
He looked like he was seeing a mad man. He paid me the
$30,000, but immediately said: Jimmy, you know the rules,
you know youre putting your own life in danger.
I replied: Yes, I know, but if something happens, we all die.
The FBI, the Justice Department and the Police had already
been after me. They wanted to pick my brain to see how much
information they could get about the mafa. But they had no evi-
dence against me; I was a professional and never left a fnger-
print at the crime scenes. I was proud of that. I was very careful
with that, because of my training, I was very professional.
When they realized that there was no evidence against me to
take me to court, I went into the Witness Protection Program of
the FBI in exchange for giving the authorities some information.
I then devoted myself to God; I studied theology and gradu-
ated as a reverend and now, I serve the mafa of good, led by the
Godfather of salvation and eternal life, Jesus Christ.
Projects in Honduras
Jimmy Hughes Ministiies opeiates in Zambiano (Hon-
duias)thioughhisfoundationFieetheOppiessed,whichin
SpanishiscalledMinisteiioLibeienalosOpiimidos.
Otheioiganizationsinclude:
Te Prince of Peace Childrens Home.
Te Rainbow House.
Casa Santiago catering services for missionary teams.
Gateway of Hope Rehabilitation Center for Young People.
AllofthesecenteisaielocatedinthevillageofZambiano,
noithofTegucigalpa,wheiehelivedwithhisfamily.
LinktooiiginalaiticleinSpanish---
http://www.laprensahn.com/Sucesos/Ediciones/2009/10/05/
Noticias/De-maton-de-mafa-italiana-a-pastor-evangelico
Canalsobeieadatthiswebsite(inEnglish)---
http://deadlinelive. info/2009/10/05/jimmy-hughes-
%E2%80%93-from-cia-operative-and-mafa-hitman-to-evan-
gelical-pastor-2/
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
429
AsofDecembei1,2009theextiaditionofJimmyHughesfiom
MiamitoRiveiside,CalifoiniawasbeingstalledbyHughesMiami
lawyei,ReneSotoiiio.HugheshadbeenaiiestedonSeptembei26,
2009 and by Decembei 1st he still hadnt been extiadited and ie-
mained in the Metio West Detention Centei in Miami. Te next
extiaditionheaiingwasscheduledfoiDecembei3
id
.
Tewheelsofjusticegiindslowly,butthehistoiyofDOJpios-
ecutions on anything ielated to the Octopus to date in Califoinia
wasessentiallyzeio.Ihadconceinsthatatsomepointthefedeial
goveinmentmightattempttostepintothecaseastheyhadinthe
past,butPoweisexplainedthattheCalifoiniaDOJplannedtonai-
iowthepiosecutionofJimmyHughestoasimplecasethatexclud-
edanyexculpatoiyevidenceielatingtotheOctopusconspiiacies,
i.e,theMob,Wackenhut,etc.,whichcouldbeusedbythedefense.
IpiesumedthiswasalsowhyDetectivePoweischosenottomen-
tion my name oi my ieseaich contiibutions to any of the media
peoplewhointeiviewedhimafteitheJimmyHughesaiiest.
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
437
Inthemeantime,RachelBegleywasmonitoiingthepiogiessof
theextiaditionofJimmyHughesthioughmediaiepoitsandmak-
inginioadsatthecleiksoceinMiami.OnNovembei20,shesent
ane-mailtoDeputyAttoineyGeneialMikeMuiphyattheDOJs
oce in San Diego. I ioaied when I iead it, and iealized that the
DOJdidnthaveachancewithDangeiGiilontheiibacks,noidid
JimmyHughes.Tisisthee-mailthatshesent:
From: RachelBegley
Sent:Fiiday,Novembei20,20096:16PM
To:MikeMuiphyDOJCA.
Subject:JimmyHughesContinuance?
Hi,
IdidsomecheckingaioundtodayandfoundoutaboutHughes
attyaskingfoiacontinuation.Tewayoneofthenewssouices
makes it sound is that Hughes atty was in contact with you (oi
youioce)aboutthiscontinuation?
Im just cuiious if that is tiue? And if so, why stall it? Lets
get him back to Califoinia and make his attoiney actually woik
to come to Califoinia, lets not help them with theii defense ya
know?RachelBegley.
JimmyHugheswaivedextiaditionincouitonDecembei3,and
will be biought back to Califoinia by Detective John Poweis and
bookedintotheRiveisideCountyjail.RachelBegleywilllikelybea
keywitnessatHughestiialinacoupleofyeais,alongwithotheiin-
dividualsintioducedinTe Last Circle.Oveitheyeais,theinvesti-
gationoftheOctopustookonalifeofitsown,soIfolloweditwheie
ittookme,likealeafonaiivei.Mystoiyendedwiththeaiiestand
extiaditionofJimmyHughes,buttheiewillbeplentyofmediacov-
eiageatthetiial,andtheOctopussagawillnditsownending.
NEWSFLASHAddendum2010:Sevenmonthslateiasuipiis-
ing twist occuiied in the Jimmy Hughes homicide case. Deputy
Attoiney Geneial Mike Muiphy, who was piosecuting the case
outoftheSanDiegooce,notiedRachelBegleythatheplanned
todiopthechaigesagainstHughesatafelonysettlementconfei-
enceheaiinginIndioonJuly1,the29thanniveisaiyofthetiiple
TnrLs:Civcir
438
homicide in which Begleys fathei, Ralph Bogei, had been found
muideied.
HugheshadbeenaiiestedonSeptembei26,2009andchaiged
withthieecountsofmuidei(withspecialciicumstances)andone
countofconspiiacy.Inexplicably,thecasewassuddenlybeingdis-
missed,despitethefactthatJimmyHugheshadbeenincustodyfoi
ninemonths.
Rachelwantedtospeakatthecouitheaiing,undeiMaicysLaw,
inwhichthevictimcangiveastatementtothecouitandtotheac-
cused.IaccompaniedheitotheDistiictAttoineysocepiioito
theheaiinginheieoittoobtainassistancefiomtheWitnessiVic-
timAdvocateSeivicesDivisionoftheD.A.soce,Indiobianch.
Rachel spoke with Loiena Seiiano, victim seivices advocate,
whowastheistpeisonwehadencounteiedinthecouitsystem
who listened attentively to Rachels stoiy and piomised to follow
thioughonRachelsbehalf.
Tatevening,onJune30
th
,whileweatedinneiwithAndiewRice
whowasinteiviewingusfoiastoiyinWiredmagazine,asuipiise
callcameinfiomLoienaadvisingRacheltocallRobinSax,ahigh
piole victims advocate attoiney in Los Angeles. Sax was a foi-
meiRiveisideCountypiosecutoiandfoimeiLosAngelesCounty
DeputyDistiictAttoiney.
Robin is also an in-house NBC News legal analyst and iegulai
guestcommentatoifoiseveialnationaltelevisionshows,analyzing
manyhi-piolecasesincludingCNNsLarry King Live,HLNsNan-
cyGiace,NBCsToday Show,Dr. Phil,TyiaBanks,CBS Early Show,
Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell,HLNsPrime News,FoxsGeraldo at
Large,Insiderandmanyotheis.Shehascommentatedonhighpio-
lecasesincludingJayceeDuggaid,AmbeiDubois,ChelseaKing,
AnthonySowell,RomanPolanski,ChailieSheen,MichaelJackson,
CaseyAnthony,NataleeHolloway,DiewPeteison,OJSimpsonand
manyotheis.
SaxoeiedtoiepiesentRachelfieeofchaigeandimmediately
ledamotionwiththesupeiioicouitinIndiotoPieseiveVictims
RightsundeiMaicysLawandPioceedtoPieliminaiyHeaiingiel-
ativetotheJimmyHughescase#INF066719.
AttheheaiingonJuly1,mediafiomalloveiCalifoiniaswaimed
thecouithousewithTVcameiasandjostledtogetintothecouit-
ioom. At 1:30 v.r. Deputy Attoiney Geneial Mike Muiphy ie-
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
439
quested that the case against Jimmy Hughes be dismissed undei
PenalCode1385.
Muiphy told the couit that the Attoiney Geneials oce oiigi-
nally accepted the Riveiside Sheiis package foi piosecution last
summei,butafteihisoceieviewedandinteiviewedkeywitness-
es,theydevelopednewinfoimationthatwasnotknowntolawen-
foicement at the time that the Riveiside sheiis depaitment led
thechaiges.Basedonthisnewinfoimation,Muiphysaidtheyieas-
sessedthecaseanddioppedit.Teiewasalsoapioblemwiththe
pioceduialhistoiyofthecase,Muiphydidnotdenewhatitwas
oiievealwhatthenewinfoimationwas.Hesaid,Wehavelostcon-
denceinouiabilitytopioceedwiththepiosecutionofthiscase.
JudgeDaleR.WellsdeniedRobinSaxsmotiontoietainJimmy
Hughesinjailandpioceedtoapieliminaiyheaiingwheieevidence
couldbepiesented,butheallowedRacheltogiveheistatement.
Judge Wells also gianted the piosecutois iequest to diop the
case,andJimmyHugheswassetfieethatday.
Attheconclusionoftheheaiing,DetectiveJohnPoweistoldthe
AssociatedPiessthathestillbelievesHughesisguiltyandhopedto
somedayiesubmitthecasewithnewevidence.
OnJuly2,2010NBCTVNews,LosAngeles(NBC-LA),aiiedcov-
eiage of the couit heaiing in Indio: A segment of the newscast in-
cludeda25-yeai-oldinteiviewinwhichJimmyHughessaidthatthe
FiedAlvaieztiiplehomicidein1981wasanoideiedassassination,
buthewasonlythebagman.Hughestoldtheiepoitei,PatiickHealy,
inthe1985 newsclipthatthehitwasanauthoiized,backed,govein-
mentcoveitaction.Seevideoofthenewsclipatthiswebsite:http:ii
www.nbclosangeles.comistationias-seen-oniVictim_s_Daughtei_
Deciies_Dismissal_of_Muidei_Chaiges_Los_Angeles.html
TeDesert SuninIndiowiotethefollowingonJuly2,2010:
Octopus Muideis Case Diopped: Ocials Refuse to Divulge
NewEvidencethatLedtoDismissalbyBiianIndielunas:(exceipted)
BegleysaidshedoubtsthatMuiphyandtheattoineygen-
eialsocehaddiscoveiednewevidence.
Ifianklydontbelievethathefoundanynew(infoimation),
she said. Te evidence that we found was moie than sucient
andhandedtohimonasilveiplattei.
TnrLs:Civcir
440
Begleyleftthecouitioominteaisbutsaidsheisntdoneghting.
Itsnottheend,denitelynottheend,shesaid.Wehavea
legalstiategy.
Fiustiatedwithpiosecutoishandlingofthecase,Begleyhiied
heiownattoiney,RobinSax,lateWednesday.
Sax led a motion asking Wells to keep the case active long
enough foi a pieliminaiy heaiing to be held, but the judge ie-
jectedthemotion,sayingthatavictimdidnothavethenecessaiy
standingtomakesuchaiequestinaciiminalcase.
Sax said she would continue woiking on Begleys behalf but
declinedtodetailheinextsteps.
Wells dismissed the case against Hughes without piejudice,
meaning piosecutois could iele the case in the futuie, said
Westiup,theattoineygeneialsspokesman.
Poweis, the sheiis detective, said he would continue to ac-
tivelyinvestigatethecaseandwouldconsideiiesubmittingitto
piosecutois.
ButwithHughesieleasedTuisday,Begleysaidshefeaisfoi
thesafetyofheiselfandotheis---
TestatementthatRachelBegleyaiticulatedinthecouitioom(foithe
iecoid)befoiethejudgedismissedthecase.Asfollows:(exceipted)
StatementtotheCouitandHonoiableJudgeDaleR.Wells
July1,2010
YouiHonoi,
May I iequest that this statement, pei Maicys Law, be made a
peimanentiecoidofthiscouit.
MynameisRachelBegley.Myfathei,RalphBogei,wasmui-
deiedinanexecutionstyletiiplehomicideinRanchoMiiage29
yeaisago.Teanniveisaiyofhismuideiistoday,July1
st
.
Tedefendant,JamesHughes,whoissittinginthiscouittoday,
admittedhisinvolvementinmyfatheismuideiyeaisago,andhas
published at vaiious websites in the US and in Latin Ameiican
newspapeis that he was a piofessional maa hit man befoie he
found God. I will gladly piovide you with these aiticles at youi
iequest.
I am not heie today to piesent the abundance of evidence
againstJimmyHughes,Iamheietopleadwithyounottoielease
RcnrisRrsoiu:io
441
Mi.HughesbecauseIandnumeiousotheivictimsandwitnesses
willliveinfeaifoitheiestofouilivesifMi.Hughesissetfieeto
ietuintohishomeinHonduiaswheieheispoliticallyconnected
withboththegoveinmentandthemilitaiy.Iffutuiehaimcomes
to me oi othei witnesses by Hughes oi his followeis, I believe
theiewouldbenocoopeiativeeoitbetweentheUnitedStates
andHonduiastobiingMi.Hughestojustice.
Indeed, he is being ieleased today in the US despite the fact
thatheisaselfconfessedhitmanwhohascoldbloodedlymui-
deiednumeiousinnocentpeopleduiinghiscaieeiasahitman.
TiscaseispaiallelingtheJoianVanDeiSlootcaseinwhichhe
wasieleasedinAiubaandsubsequentlykilledagiilinLima,Peiu.
Iaskthiscouit,howmanypeoplemustdieoisueiatthehands
ofJamesHughesbefoieheisbioughttojustice?Hehasliteially
gottenawaywithmuideiifheisieleasedtoday.Tisisademoial-
izinglessontothegeneialpublicwhoiegainedtheiifaithinthe
justicesystemwhenMi.HugheswasaiiestedinSeptembei2009.
ItisalsodemoializingtothelawenfoicementpeopleinRivei-
sidewhoiiskedeveiythingtoieopenthiscaseandsolveitwhen
nooneelsecaied---despitethefactthattheieisnostatuteoflim-
itationsonthemuideiofthieepeoplein1981.
Idontknowthelaw,YouiHonoi,butIpiaythatyouwilldo
the iight and honoiable thing in this couit today, iegaidless of
whethei Mi. Mike Muiphy of the Dept of Justice in San Diego
chooses not to piosecute this case foi peisonal ieasons, oi be-
cause of a technicality ielating to due piocess that occuiied 29
yeais ago, oi because this case is complicated and could be an
embaiiassmenttotheJusticeDepaitmentatthislatedate.
Iiequest,YouiHonoi,thattheiecoidstatethatIbelievetheie
shouldbeapieliminaiyheaiingsothatthecouitcandeteimine
the evidence in this case. Nothing has changed since the ling
of this case, so eithei it was an unethical ling oi an unethical
dismissal-evenaccoidingtoMi.Muiphysownwoids,thiscase
shouldhavebeentiied25yeaisago.DuetothediligenceofDet.
JohnPoweisandmyownindependentinvestigations,andlackof
thestatuteoflimitations,theiehasbeennoduepiocessviolation.
Instead,onlyanabuseofpiosecutoiialdiscietion.Tiscaseisnot
justapeisonalsetback,butasetbackfoithesystemasawhole.
WhileIexpectthedefenseattoineystoghtonbehalfoftheii
client,Iamastoundedbythelackofvictimadvocacyandsociety
piotectionbythepiosecutioninthiscase.Fiankly,itamountsto
piosecutoiialmisconductandamiscaiiiageofjustice.
TnrLs:Civcir
442
IdonotundeistandhowAttoineyGeneialJeiiyBiowncould
suppoittheieleaseofMi.Hughes.HowcanhebeelectedGov-
einoiofCalifoiniaifhecantmanagehisstacompetentlyinSan
Diego?
PleasebeadvisedthattheonlyiequestIammakingfoimy-
self and on behalf of the family membeis of the othei muidei
victims,isthattheevidenceagainstMi.Hughesbepiesentedin
acouitoflawandthatMi.Hughesfacehisaccuseisheieinthe
United States iathei than hiding out in Honduias wheie he is
untouchable.
HepieachespubliclyinLatinAmeiicaandintheUSthatGod
hasfoigivenhimfoihismuideis,yetIquestionwhetheihehas
tiuly iepented. He has nevei shown any iemoise foi his ciimes
ofmuidei,neveiapologizedtomeoitheotheivictims,sohow
couldhehaveiepented?
IaskthatJamesHughesiemainincustodyatleastuntilanoth-
eiDOJpiosecutoiwhoislesstimidcanbeassignedtopiosecute
thiscase.Oipeihapsthecasecanbehandedoveitoanotheiju-
iisdiction oi a special piosecutoi. My own attoiney, Robin Sax,
hasoeiedtopiosecutethiscaseasaspecialpiosecutoi,should
thecouitallowthis.Teiemustbeaway,YouiHonoi,withthe
poweiandwisdomofthiscouit,thatyoucanndawaytopio-
tectthelivesandiightsofHughesvictims.
ToJimmyHughesIsay:Ihopeyouishoittimeinjailhasgiven
youtimetotiulyiepent.Beadvisedthatevenifthecouitandthe
AttoineyGeneialfailmetoday,Iwillneveigiveupseekingtiuth
andjusticefoimydad,Fied,andPatty.
ni