The Covert Element (17 page)

It went on to praise the wisdom, military skills, and loyalty of
one Raphael Santos – "most honored among those who serve."

Santos wasted no time in displaying the document to those in
the security forces with whom he had managed to curry favor. He
further commanded them that, if anyone should rebel against his
leadership, that person should be summarily executed.

When Manuel Conchita suggested to several comrades that he
would be a better choice to lead the cartel based on his years of
service and knowledge of cartel operations, he was soon thereafter
executed by an anonymous sniper while exiting his quarters.

Between blood and ink, it did not take long before Santos had
consolidated his power as commander-in-chief of
Los Cinco
.

This was one major goal achieved. But there was no time for
celebrating. Santos meant to use his newly acquired power to
decimate the cartel – financially, structurally, and psychologically.
It was a grand plan, and still far from completion. But the next step
was already underway far to the north, in the State of Minnesota,
USA.

Several years earlier, Santos had persuaded Calderon that the
cartel’s product losses at border crossings were at an unacceptable
level. Something had to change. The
gringos
were becoming ever
more aggressive in keeping Mexicans, and therefore, Mexican drug
couriers, out of their country.

Santos’ plan was for
Los Cinco
to take the bold step of moving
drug production facilities
inside
the U.S. borders. From there,
Santos had argued, the drugs could flow freely throughout the U.S.,
and if desired, even into Canada, where the border was far more
porous than in the south.

Of course, there were risks. Both Santos and Calderon knew
this. But as put forth by Santos, the rewards of such an operation
were potentially enormous. And the financial investment required
to begin production would be less than the value of the
methamphetamine that might be lost in only two or three failed
border crossings. Good business dictated that
Los Cinco
should take
this step forward.

Knowledge of
el Proyecto de Minnesota
, as Calderon named
the business venture, was disseminated on a strictly need-to-know-basis. Calderon and Santos both agreed that no one physically
located in Mexico, other than themselves, had a need-to-know.
Their associates in the U.S. would require bits and pieces of
information. But only one
gringo
truly needed full knowledge. That
person was the cartel’s American attorney, Albert Dosdall.

Working through Dosdall, Santos had managed to acquire
several properties he deemed suitable for mass production of
methamphetamine. There were certain qualities that would make a
site a prime candidate. Such a location would be:

1) Distant from high population areas. The smells of meth
production would be unmistakable to police patrolling even an
industrial area.

2) Near transportation arteries to several major metropolitan
areas. Semi-trucks carrying meth would blend in much better on an
interstate highway than a rural two lane. In addition, trucking the
product to lucrative markets would be safer if the time in transit
were as short as possible.

3) Far enough from the Mexican border so local law
enforcement would not anticipate direct involvement by Mexican
drug cartels.

4) In an area where Mexican immigrants worked or resided in
sufficient numbers so a few more Mexicans wouldn’t draw
unwanted attention.

Careful consideration of all these factors had caused Santos to
zero in on rural Minnesota. Having no experience in mass drug
trafficking, out-state law enforcement would be less than capable.
Yet the locations were close enough to metropolitan populations
who would consume the meth produced at the site. Beyond these
factors, Minnesota was about as far from Mexico as one could get
and still be inside the U.S. And migrant Mexican workers had been
present in Minnesota for decades – some legal, some otherwise.

Originally, the immigrants had worked mostly in agricultural
jobs the Americans no longer wanted because they were back-breaking work. Picking beets along Minnesota’s Red River Valley,
or detasseling seed corn in the vast plains of the southern counties
had kept Mexicans employed for many years.

More recently, additional jobs had opened up to them. Sheet-rocking. Factory work. Landscaping. Roofing. Minnesota businesses
were Mexican-friendly in these occupations. The state’s cultural
landscape already featured a considerable population of Mexican
immigrants as employees, and even owners, in these job areas.

Yes. Minnesota possessed the requisite Mexican presence to
provide cover for Santos’ immigrant work force.

So when an investment opportunity presented itself in the
village of Bellechester, Minnesota, Santos was quick to act. This
facility, he pointed out to Calderon, was even better than they could
hope for.

It was already mostly built. The Organic Farming operation
originally planned for the site would provide excellent cover for the
smells, the trucks, and the chemicals needed to execute on the meth
plan. The site improvements could be modified to increase
laboratory area for the actual drug cooking. And the community had
been so devastated by the U.S. recession, that residents were
desperate for business of any kind to open there. Smells didn’t
bother them as long as jobs and paychecks accompanied the odor.

These were the arguments Santos employed to obtain
Calderon’s approval for
el Proyecto de Minnesota
. In Santos’
master plan, actual drug production and distribution was not
crucial . . . only the
appearance
of such an enterprise to Calderon
and Dosdall
was important. But if it took actual production and
distribution of meth to the Americans to achieve that appearance,
so be it. They would get their drugs somewhere anyway. It was a
small price to pay if it could help him bring down
Los Cinco
.

The Bellechester site was only one location the cartel would
establish for meth production in the United States. There were
others in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Most would house smaller
production facilities, though. Bellechester would be
Los Cinco’s
crowned jewel in the U.S. drug marketplace.

In order to realize on its plans for the Bellechester facility,
Los
Cinco
directed Dosdall to form a U.S. investment entity through
which monies could be directed to the project. Bellechester
Investors, LLC purchased a substantial equity interest in the
company that owned the site and Dosdall assumed direct oversight
of the project for the benefit of
Los Cinco
.

At the time of Calderon’s death, legitimate business operations
of Bellechester Organic, as the enterprise was known to the locals,
had been underway for a little more than a year. The business had
already acquired the
bona fides
needed for it to take the next step
into drug manufacturing. Instructions had been given and meth
production had begun.

El Proyecto de Minnesota
was not the only wheel Santos had in
motion . . . but it was the one which he had chosen to be the catalyst
for everything that would follow. He would certainly keep a close
eye on developments in Minnesota, always looking for signs that the
time was right. Then he would strike.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

As time passed, Walter Marsden’s suspicions that something
was funny with Bellechester Organics’ accounting began to mount.
He had allowed his meeting with Dosdall and Ashcroft several
months ago to assuage his concerns at the time . . . mainly because
he truly wanted everything to be okay. For it to be otherwise meant
heaps of worry, and potentially, financial ruin.

But with each passing week, his management reports seemed
farther and farther beyond likelihood. Cornmeal sales revenue had
more than tripled this quarter over last. Expenses for Farm Services
Division supplies of iodine and anhydrous ammonia grew ever
more exorbitant. Organic was making money hand over fist.

He certainly had no complaints about the company’s bottom
line. There were just too many details that failed to add up. He
began to conduct his own internal investigation regarding the
iodine and anhydrous expenses.

Calling the purchasing clerk into his office, he inquired about
the large quantities of these two chemicals and to whom they were
being sold. The order for additional supplies had come from the
Farm Services Division, he was told. His next visit was with the
Manager of that division.

The Manager was vague about who was purchasing the
chemicals and where they were being used or applied. Marsden
demanded to see the purchase orders for all of Farm Services
Division for the past two quarters. The Manager complained of
unnecessary paper pushing, but eventually had no choice but to
accede to Marsden’s demands. The purchase orders arrived in
Marsden’s office in a single, red-rope file folder.

Marsden had expected there to be a lot more of these
documents. But at least the small number of purchase orders in the
file made it easy for him to review them all.

First, he identified all the Service Packages that would include
delivery and spraying of fields with anhydrous ammonia. There
were only ten farms who had bought such packages. That wasn’t
surprising, since organic farmers would not spray their fields with
ammonia. The anhydrous customers would be among the few "non-organics" who bought services, but did not sell crops through the
Elevator.

Marsden called the farmer named on the first purchase order.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Ryan. Is your husband at home?"

"Hold on. I’ll get him." Marsden heard the woman yelling for
her husband at the top of her lungs. As might be expected, he was
outside . . . farming.

After nearly a minute, a screen door slammed and an out-of-breath Carl Ryan picked up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Hello there, Carl. Sorry to interrupt your morning. This is
Walter Marsden at Bellechester Organic."

Ryan was trying to catch his breath. He had probably run quite
a distance to answer this call.

"Mr. Marsden." Pause for breath. "What can I do for you? Is
there something wrong with my account?" Pause for breath. "I paid
in full for the year just last month."

"Actually, we’ve experienced a computer glitch over here, Carl.
So I’m personally making sure we don’t drop the ball on anything,
you know. Would you mind confirming for me the services you
bought from us this year?"

"Yeah. No problem. Lemme think.

"I had you guys spray nitrogen on 95 acres of corn land this
spring. Other than that, I stopped in a couple times and bought a
few bags of feed supplements for the chickens. Paid for those right
at the till though."

"And was that one application of nitrogen or two?"

"Just the one. Does it show I ordered two? I never would order
two, ya know. The benefit ain’t worth the cost."

"I agree with you on that, Carl. And my records do only show
one application. Did you purchase any bulk anhydrous from us for
any reason?"

"Not other than what you guys sprayed on the fields. Don’t
even have my own sprayer. Does it say I bought some bulk?"

"Not at all, Carl. As I said, I’m just trying to confirm that we’ve
done everything we need to do under our Service Package with you.
It sounds like we’ve finished our job for this year. Do you have any
complaints?"

"Nope. Hardly knew they was here. And the crops are lookin’
jus’ fine. So I’m guessin’ the nitrogen helped."

"Okay, Carl. Thanks for your time. And again, sorry for
interrupting your day."

"No problem. You be good now, ya hear?"