Platinum Jaxx partner admits smuggling
Published: October 22nd, 2008 02:29 AM
Last Modified: October 22nd, 2008 02:13 PM
The U.S. government is getting a quarter interest in the Platinum Jaxx Bar and Grill after a plea deal reached with one of its owners who admitted leading a multimillion-dollar drug-smuggling operation, according to the U.S. attorney.
Wallie Scott Vierra, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to charges that he conspired to haul and distribute more than a ton of “BC Bud” from British Columbia to Alaska. Vierra, who had a 25 percent stake in Platinum Jaxx, also pleaded guilty to using the popular downtown nightclub to launder more than half a million dollars in drug money.
“Vierra apparently thought that laundering over $500,000 into Platinum Jaxx and real estate would throw law enforcement off his trail,” IRS Special Agent in Charge of Alaska Kenneth J. Hines said in a statement. “Law enforcement is very adept at unraveling even the most complex money laundering schemes.”
The seizure, however, won’t likely affect the club’s operations, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Russo. The government will first have to determine how much money the 25 percent interest is actually worth, then decide whether to sell it or get into the nightclub business, he said.
“It’s all going to be a negotiation as to whether or not (the other owners) want the government as a partner or perhaps can settle on a figure as to what his interest is,” Russo said. “It’s not unheard of for the government to participate in running businesses. We’d hire an outside contractor to participate in the management.”
None of the club’s other owners have been implicated in the smuggling operation, though Russo said the investigation is continuing into whether other people may have been involved.
The remaining club owners include prominent lawyer Paul Stockler, who has faced off in criminal court against the federal government as defense attorney in the recent high-profile cases of former Rep. Tom Anderson and Security Aviation principal Rob Kane. Now, at least for a while, he’s in business with Uncle Sam along with partners Angela Harris, Jaysir Alden and Jess Hepper. They plan to buy Vierra’s shares if the government puts them on the market, Hepper said.
“The government isn’t in the business of running a nightclub and restaurant, so I’m sure they’re looking to get rid of the shares just as much as we’re looking forward to acquiring them,” he said. “It’s unfortunate (Vierra) was involved with what he was involved with. That’s not what Platinum Jaxx was involved with.”
In addition to his stake in Platinum Jaxx, Vierra forfeited about $1 million in cash, boats, real estate, motor homes and other vehicles he bought using drug money.
Prosecutors say Vierra got his start as a drug trafficker as early as 2000 in a ring formed by Thomas Cody, who was shot dead in his home by Dennis Shine in 2005. The murder allowed Shine and his partner, Thomas Ranes, to take over, but by that time Vierra had already set up shop as a competitor, prosecutors said.
“Vierra left the Ranes and Shine organization in about 2003 and formed his own marijuana importation organization,” Russo said. “These were two marijuana smuggling organizations that, I think, are among the biggest that we’ve prosecuted in Alaska.”
Shine has pleaded guilty to the slaying and drug charges and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Vierra and four of his drivers pleaded guilty last week of plotting to import and distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in Alaska between 2000 and 2007, court records say. They did it by stashing 100-pound bundles of marijuana from Canada in secret compartments in fuel tanks mounted in the beds of pickups every two to six weeks.
The others convicted were: Steven Michael Roberts, 32, of Vancouver, Wash.; Keith Harrington Edwards, 38, of Anchorage; Linda Rae Harrigan, 55, of Anchorage; and Judy Carol Staffa, 62, of Manteca, Calif.
Prosecutors say those four were drivers who hauled drugs and cash between Canada and Alaska about 68 times. Edwards also pleaded guilty to making the secret compartments and Roberts admitted distributing the drugs when they arrived in Anchorage.
Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.
