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Jesse Jerome Dean, Jr.
30 Years
Cocaine ConspiracyFrom Innocence in Prison Project International
Original w/ links: www.iippi.org/inmates/florida/jessedeanIn 1991, I, Jesse Jerome Dean, Jr., a citizen and resident of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, volunteered to become a confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Nassau, Bahamas. I was a Senior Radar Controller at the Nassau International Airport. I was instrumental in the seizures of several large shipments of drugs, for which I was paid by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration).
I soon became acquainted with the owners and operators of a seafood company in South Florida, two brothers, one of whom was a drug-trafficker. As a confidential informant, I sought to but was never able to cause a seizure with his organization, which I was to later learn was a tightly knitted family enterprise. When I eventually learnt that he and several family members had gotten arrested, my efforts came to a stand-still. I then told Agent Shelton that I did not know of any other drug traffickers and I dedicated my free time to solely searching for venture capital. I eventually secured US3$ MILLION from "Bancor of Asia/Asian Bancor", in Manila, the Philippines, for "Daybreak Enterprises", my start-up, commercial crawfishing business.
In 1995, I was suddenly arrested by agents of the DEA and FBI in Florida, as I visited with my girlfriend, son and niece. I was shocked beyond belief! To my amazement, I had been indicted along with eighteen others, in a conspiracy that imported 908 kilograms of cocaine into Fort Lauderdale via Belize! Unbelievable!
During twenty months awaiting trial, I repeatedly rejected "plea bargains" that began at 30 years, then 12 years, then 6 years, finally to a proposed dismissal of the indictment if I pled guilty to using a telephone illegally, which carried a maximum of 48 months.
Jesse's family
Jesse's sonI alone went to trial, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years! Everyone else pleaded guilty and received lesser sentences. I vigorously professed my innocence then and continuously throughout the next ten years, to now. How could I possibly be charged and convicted for something I knew absolutely nothing about? I was a confidential informant for the DEA! A terrible mistake must have been made!
My "trial" was a complete "rail-road"! The leader of the conspiracy (the drug-trafficker at the seafood company) "testified" (in order to reduce his 30-year sentence and free his wife) that I was his partner from 1987! No matter that when he was arrested, his statements, comprising 33 names, made no mention of me whatsoever! His brother, who was only charged with money-laundering, gave statements which made no mention of any drug-trafficking activities on my behalf. A DEA Special Agent "testified" that I was given instructions which I vigorously denied, whereupon the government magically produced a document, allegedly signed by me, that I had never seen in my life, nor since "trial"!
My defense was known as "entrapment by estoppel, innocent intent or public authority". Simply put, as a confidential informant, I was authorized to engage in activities which would otherwise be criminal; exactly what I had always done!
To my surprise, I learnt at trial that I had allegedly been "deactivated" but not informed - a gross violation of the Department of Justice's own "Guidelines Regarding the Use of Confidential Informants".
To add insult to injury, in 2002, five years after my "trial", I learnt for the first time that the government had suppressed information which further exonerated me: I had been previously cleared by a joint U.S./Bahamian investigation; I had been misidentified with one "Jesse L. Dean" of Belleville, Illinois, and the mysterious document that had been used against me at "trial", suddenly did not exist! How convenient!
I presented these newly-discovered documents to Judge Hurley and after initially denying it, he granted my Motion for Reconsideration and referred my claims of fraud upon the court to Magistrate White. Six months later, my case was quietly closed again.
Despite these very detailed showings of both my actual and legal innocence and the fraud that was perpetrated upon me and the court, I remain imprisoned; each and every court that has reviewed my claims has denied me relief, ignoring their own laws, the facts and the truth! Since 1999, I have been representing myself.
THE CASE
Date of the Crime: 9-18-1994
Date of Conviction: 2-6-1997
Case No: 94-506-CR-HURLEY
Sentence: 360 months (30 years), 5 years of supervised release, deportation from USA for Conspiracy to Import, Importation, Possession, Distribution of 908 Kilograms of Cocaine; Use of a Communication FacilityJesse J. Dean, Jr. 44060-004
Federal Correctional Complex
PO Box 1031
Coleman, FL 33521-1031Posted 9/26/08
