Woman On Trial For Funneling Drug Profits To Central America
By STEPHEN HEDGES
Herald Staff Writer
Marlene Navarro, accused of funneling millions in drug profits through the United States and back to Colombian drug lords, stood trial Wednesday in Miami federal court, four years after she was first indicted.
Looking drawn and disinterested, Navarro sat at the far end of the defendant's table as Assistant U.S. Attorney Myles Malman read the 14-count indictment against her. The charges, returned in October 1982, accuse Navarro of using a sophisticated financial network to transfer $5.5 million in drug profits from Miami to Central American banks.
"Marlene Navarro organized and supervised the collection of these monies in the United States and their transfer," said Malman, who called Navarro the "executive vice president" of a thriving drug operation.
Charged in two counts with Navarro is Bertha Y. Paez, who the government says conspired to possess and distribute cocaine. Paez, dressed in a striped suit, wore headphones during Malman's opening statement which was translated into Spanish.
Navarro's court appearance follows her return to Miami in February after her expulsion from Venezuela. The trial, which will include 40 hours of conversation taped by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is expected to take two months.
Navarro and Paez were indicted following an undercover DEA investigation called Operation Swordfish. Intending to disrupt the laundering of drug profits, the DEA set up a phony investment company called Dean Investments, and began changing money for smugglers. Navarro, Malman said was a frequent Dean customer.
If convicted, Navarro faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
