Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 5

JOHNSON CITY PRESS Mpnday March 19 1990 Page 5 FBI arrests one in DEA firebombing Status of young in US serious committee says office bombing a pipe bomb ex- Eloded outside the Fort Myers ome of Gary Wicall a fire inspector who had investigated other bombings over several months on Fort Myers Beach "Someones sending me a message Someone wants to scare me But frankly theyve just angered me Wicall told the Fort Myers News-Press laSMAAAAAAAAAAAOmiAAt 1193 puties to guard at least 13 prosecutors judges and law enforcement officials who took part in a joint task force investigating and prosecuting drug dealers in the southwestern Florida county He called the DEA bombing "a declaration of war McDougall said the protection might be extended to others such as jurors and witnesses who helped in the recent federal grand jury investigation of local drug trafficking Guards were posted at the federal courthouse and the office building that houses the local office of the US attorney The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms are also investigating the bombing DEA agents told sheriffs de puties last month that Matthews demsge DEA partment records show The report to the sheriff was filed after someone vandalized a DEA vehicle parked outside the office Feb 24 Federal Officials said they had been investigating Matthews and Ciganek for at least three months The brothers were indicted on two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine Two others indicted on the same charges were arrested Friday Kelly Suss kind 20 and Kenneth Bird Sr 41 were being held without bond in the Lee County Jail The eight to 10 employees who worked at the destroyed building will find a new office officials said "The Drug Enforcement Administration i not leaving Fort MVers The Drug Enforcement Administration is here to stay -said'Gregnrjr Kehoe- first from Tamna Three hours before tbe DEA Factory Direct Prices Whirlpool tubs facuets showers shower doors spas Visit Our Warehouse 100 ureal Ash SI 1SC33TTZ3 1241473 3 property and cars sheriffs de I Tha Associated Press FORT MYERS Fla The FBI said Sunday it had arrested the younger of two brothers wanted for questioning in the bombing of a US Drug Enforcement Administration office The firebombing of the DEA office early Saturday which caused $4 million in damage but no injuries came two days after the brothers were indicted on drug charges John Lewis Ciganek 22 was arrested Sunday morning' said special agent Brian Kensel spokesman for the FBI team investigating the DEA bombing "He is now in the custody of the FBI but only on the drug charges Kensel said declining to give details of the arrest "There have been no warrants 'issued in connection with the ex- plosion sosrrh rnntintiod fop- Tof fery A Matthews 23 formerly known as Jeff Ciganek The fire caused by the bombing gutted the 6000-square-foot one-story building at a shopping-business mall agency officials said The drug agency was the only tenant in the building Kensel said Sunday that investigators determined that the blast was caused by a pipe bomb and a "liquid accelerant probably gasoline was used to spread the fire that caused most of the damage Federal drug agents told local sheriffs deputies last month that Matthews had threatened DEA property during a drug investigation "They are being sought on the federal indictment for drug trafficking Detective Set William Andrews said Sunday before Ciganek was arrested "We -understand that they-are also suspected in the bombing Kensel said the FBI wanted to talk to the brothers about the bombing but declined to label them or anyone else as prime sus-' pects "If (Ciganek) has information to impart that is pertinentjojhe be happy to listen he said But he emphasized that Ciganek was arrested only on the drug charees After the bombing Saturday Lee County Sheriff John McDougall issued orders for de- up to KitcheiiAid Quality ceived government assistance compared to 73 percent in the United States The rate of teen-age pregnancy was highest in the United States than other countries examined Infant mortality rates ranged from a low of 5 deaths per 1000 live births in Japan to 25 deaths per 1000 in the Soviet Union The US rate was 10 deaths per 1000 live births -equal to or worse than noe countries The United States had a murder rate for male youths four to five times that of other developed countries But Mexico had a rate twice that of the United States The United States compared favorably in rates of youth unemployment and suicide Miller said statistics on infant mortality show the United States does a good job of savini ill babies that would have dii in less developed countries But low average birth weights suggest the United States does a poor job of prenatal care he said "Its lack of will Miller said "Were not willing to spend those preventative dollars Its criminal He said-the comparisons suggest the United States will not meet goals set by -President Bush to make the United States rank first in science and math education by the end of the 1990s The report compared 12 industrialized countries: Austra-UaUanada France Germany "Great Britain Hungary Italy Japan Norway Soviet Union Sweden United States It also provided some information on four countries listed as developing: Israel Mexico India and China By William Welch Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON The United States trails its foreign competitors in the health and care of children and fares poorly in a comparison of child poverty rates a House committee' reported Sunday The report by the House Select Committee on Children Youth and Families said the-United States has the hpht-percentage of children affected by divorce and its mafe youths are far more likely to be murdered than those in other developed nations "What this shows is there are some very serious questions about the status of Americas children when compared to others said the panels chairman Rep George Miller D-Calif The committee based the re- S)rt on a new study by the US ensus Bureaus center for international research which compared statistics on US children with those of 11 other nations Among its fmdings: US children experience the highest parental divorce rate One in four children now live in single-parent families which have higher poverty rates than two-parent families The proportion of children living in singleparent families increased since 1960 in all J2 countries but the gap between the United States and the 11 others widened Among six industrialized countries the United States and Australia had the highest poverty rates among families with Cuilurertrlj'percent and 14 per" cent respectively even after tax and transfer benefits were applied At least 99 percent of poor families with children in the other developed countries re Extra Discounts On ALL KichenAid Products During This Sale i Plug Factory Debates On Selected Models While Quantities Last Vv Dishwasher Quality Feature 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showers You'll want to give Pi a gift and keep The Associated Press LEXINGTON Ky A Lexington bodybuilder said he was the ''mystery companion on a plane with Andrew Thornton when Thornton parachuted to his death with 75 pounds of cocaine strapped to him in September Bill Leonard told The Knoxville (Tenn) News-Sentinel that Thornton tricked him into making a flight to Colombia to bring back 880 pounds of cocaine "He saia 'Well Im going over to the Bahamas to meet a couple 1 structed before they jumped Leonard said he told Ms Sharp everything although Thornton had told him not to mention the drugs Ms Sharp also talked with the newspaper and said she did not know that Thornton was smugi gling drugs She Baid he had asked her to pick him up in Knoxville -Thomas Dillard Ms Sharps attorney said she and Leonard togreed to speak with the Knoxville newspaper their first public comment on the incident- be- jdL THE Great Outdoors SHOP 110 Mountccatte Crtu JofwonClfy (Acroat from Home federal) 282-4255 of guys to talk about some things cause a recent book "left a clear ana I need somebody to watch my impression they were conspirators back Ill pay you Leonard told in this Thornton episode 15V mi racM all cm mm 1EHEXB ra the News-Sentinel in a copyright story Tne story last Sunday outlined Leonards version of what happened: The plane landed in a swampy area and quickly was surrounded by Colombians brandishing machine guns said Leonard who works at the Lexington Athletic Club He said Thornton and the ground crew loaded fuel and cocaine as he watched A Colombian who accompanied them on the flight down aid not return with them Jets began following them at the Florida border Leonard was told by Thornton he would have to parachute from the plane Leonard had never done that before and was frightened When the plane was over Georgia Thornton told Leonard to start throwing things out Leonard threw out the cocaine which upset Thornton a former Lexington police officer and mem- ber of A prominent Lexington family At one point lato in the flight Leonard said Thornton turned to him and said "Im really sorry for getting you involved in this I can se this is not your thing Youre a family man" Thornton (trapped the remaining cocaine to his body and told Leonard to jump from the plane shortly after midnight Sept 11 1985 over Knoxville Although Leonard landed safely Thornton did not His body was found in a Knoxville yard The plane on autopilot crashed into a North Carolina mountain Leonard made his way to the Knoxville Hyatt where he met Rebecca Sharp Thorntons girlfriend as Thornton had in- The book titled The Bluegrass Conspiracy is by former Lexington television reporter Sally Denton It follows the efforts of a former Kentucky State Police detective as he tried to break up the drug-smuggling ring Thornton headed The book called Leonard and Ms Sharp "main players in the conspiracy That passage and others opened Ms Sharp and Leonard to a number of dangers Dillard said -'That left them exposed not only to a prosecutor assuming they may be guilty and for some reason were not prosecuted in Tennessee hut it also left them exposed to individuals who might still be seeking revenge for the loss of this cocaine he said Ms Denton told last week about Leonards account in the News-Sentinel called it "a convenient story She said Leonard would have to be naive not to suspect that Thornton's trip Involved drug smuggling "As far as their actual involvement and whether somebody wohld like to prosecute I don Imagine anyone would bo able to prosecute based on the' evidence put forth in my book she said "As far as retribution for the lost cocaine thats their problem ultimately Dillard said that Leonard never had been charged with a crime and that charges against Ms Sharp were dropped Leonard 42 still lives in Lexington Sharp lives in Tennessee Dillard said He characterized Ms Sharp and Leonard as "good community citizens tarnished by Ms Denton's book Because it pays 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