DOJ Seeks to Dismiss High-Profile Meth Case, Citing 'Evidentiary Concerns'
Updated: Citing “evidentiary concerns,” the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss without prejudice a drug conspiracy case against a Chinese-born Mexican millionaire, saying that Zhenli Ye Gon should first be tried in Mexico where authorities allegedly seized some $205 million from his Mexico City mansion.
The U.S. case against Ye Gon in the District of Columbia accuses him of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine for sale in this country, reports the Washington Post.
Although the DOJ filing focuses on the reasons why Ye Gon would be more appropriately tried in Mexico, including the amount of evidence and strong interest in bringing him to justice there, it also notes that the meth case prosecution has run into evidentiary issues as trial approaches in September before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.
“With one key witness in the criminal case having stated that previous statements made about the defendant were untrue and another key witness in the criminal case having expressed an unwillingness to testify, the United States has evidentiary concerns in light of these changed circumstances,” the DOJ writes in its court filing today.
A copy of the motion to dismiss (PDF) is provided by the Blog of Legal Times.
Sullivan, who appointed a special prosecutor earlier this year to review the DOJ’s work in the botched prosecution of now-former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, recently expressed irritation with prosecutors over the slow pace at which they were turning over exculpatory evidence to Ye Gon defense lawyers, the Washington Post reports.
In a subsequent filing (PDF) on June 24, however, the DOJ says it did nothing wrong, reports the Blog of Legal Times.
One of Ye Gon’s defense attorneys, Manuel Retureta of Retureta & Wassem in Washington, D.C., told the Blog of Legal Times that the defense is “obviously very pleased” to have the “enormous case” against his client dismissed. In a written statement (PDF posted by Blog of Legal Times), Retureta also contends that the government’s motion demonstrates that the U.S. should never have pursued a criminal case against Ye Gon to begin with.
Ye Gon, who was arrested by the U.S. in Maryland in 2007, intends to fight Mexico’s attempt to extradite him because he believes he would not receive a fair trial there, according to Retureta. Prior to his arrest, Ye Gon owned and operated a successful pharmaceutical company in Mexico, the Post reports.
Retureta’s statement thanks Sullivan on his client’s behalf for the judge’s “extraordinary judicial insight as well as humanity in his fair handling of Mr. Ye Gon’s case.”
Earlier related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Special Prosecutor to Investigate Government Lawyers in Sen. Stevens Case”
ABAJournal.com: “New DOJ Evidence Debacle: AG Says Gov’t Disclosure Dubious in 2 More Alaska Cases”
Updated on June 26 to include information from subsequent Blog of Legal Times post.
