Former employee of INS testifies
By David Kidwell. dkidwell@herald.com . Published Thursday, May 25, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Mariano Faget, the former immigration supervisor on trial for disclosing government secrets, denied evidence presented Wednesday suggesting -- in his own handwriting -- that he advocated violating U.S. laws that forbid doing business in communist Cuba.
Faget was confronted with notebook pages from his briefcase in an attempt by prosecutors to prove their theory that Faget leaked the information to win favor with business contacts from the island country.
``Things look bad, we must go in now before it's too late,'' Faget wrote in his notebook in 1998 regarding his company's efforts to build retail contacts in Cuba. ``We can go there now!''
Another notation said: ``Now is the time.''
The 54-year-old former supervisor at the Immigration and Naturalization Service also acknowledged lying to the FBI and breaking U.S. law by disclosing secrets, but he said his motives were pure -- to help a friend he thought was in danger.
That friend, authorities say, is a suspected Cuban spy.
Faget and wealthy businessman Pedro Font are among a group of Cuban Americans who formed a company called America Cuba Inc. in 1993 to establish it as a conduit for American businesses hoping to enter Cuba once the U.S. embargo is lifted.
Under cross-examination by federal prosecutor Richard Gregorie, Faget acknowledged making the notations that authorities found in his briefcase, but said they were written after he accessed an Internet site that detailed how health-care products are sometimes a permissible export to Cuba.
``Only health-care products,'' he said from the witness stand Wednesday. ``But America Cuba doesn't have any health-care products, so I don't know why I wrote that. . . . It was never our intention to violate U.S. law.''
Faget argued that America Cuba never did any business or made any money, and that he never was paid.
Gregorie spent the entire morning attacking that assertion.
He questioned Faget in detail about the dealings of America Cuba, including minutes of board meetings in which the purchase of a Cuban warehouse was discussed; the establishment of a Panamanian nominee company to handle the purchase; talk about buying land for a Cuban-American cemetery in Cuba;
market surveys within Cuba; company-sponsored trips to the island; meetings by company executives with high-level Cuban officials on the island; a letter of intent with Procter & Gamble; and finally Faget's contacts with Cuban officials classified as known spies by the FBI.
Gregorie presented Faget with a letter he wrote to Font in October 1994 in which Faget explains how a friend of his has contacts in Cuba interested in a warehouse deal.
``Were you aware this was a violation of the embargo?'' Gregorie asked.
``That's why we didn't do it,'' Faget said.
``Ah,'' said Gregorie, incredulous.
``I object to the `Ah,' your honor,'' Faget attorney Ed O'Donnell said.
``Strike the `Ah,' '' U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said.
The jury laughed.
Faget was charged under U.S. espionage laws in February, one year after counterintelligence agents of the FBI spotted him meeting with an official with the Washington-based Cuban Interests Section, Luis Molina, at a Miami airport bar.
Faget on Tuesday admitted he had three meetings with Molina last year and one additional meeting with Molina's replacement at the Cuban Interests Section, Jose Imperatori. Faget says the topics at those meetings revolved around future business interests after the fall of Castro.
On Feb. 11, the FBI decided to do a ``dangle.''
Armed with bogus information, FBI Special Agent in Charge Hector Pesquera solicited Faget's help with top-secret immigration papers for a high-level Cuban defector -- Luis Molina. Within 12 minutes after the Faget-Pesquera meeting, Faget telephoned Font to pass along the classified information.
Faget acknowledged that Font was scheduled to meet with Imperatori within minutes, and he said he decided to call Font to warn him to stay away from any traps -- not so Font could pass on the information to Cuban spies.
``You're concerned for his safety?'' Gregorie asked.
``Correct.''
``Wouldn't the safest course of action have been to tell the FBI, `Hey, my friend is in trouble?' '' Gregorie asked.
``At the time, I didn't think of that,'' Faget said. Faget also acknowledged on Wednesday lying about the extent of his contacts with Cuban officials when first confronted by FBI agents on Feb. 17. Faget is charged with disclosing classified information to an unauthorized person, converting
government secrets for his personal use, and making false statements to the FBI.
Faget acknowledges the leak, but argues it was not intended to damage national security. ``The Cuban government wasn't going to find out,'' he said. |