Professional Experience
Chase & Associates, Inc.
President Tampa,
Florida 1998-Present
Manages all services provided by the company, including litigation support, forensic accounting, fraud detection & deterrence, due diligence review, expert witness services and training. Areas of expertise include all issues relative to investigations concerning financial issues, fraud, money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and international drug trafficking. Clients include law firms, public & private corporations, financial institutions, government agencies, educational institutions, and professional business associations
St. Petersburg College
Adjunct Professor St.
Petersburg, Florida 1998-Present
Lecture and instruct for the Multijurisdictional
Counterdrug Task Force Training Center, a division of the
School of Criminal Justice. Design and present basic and advanced
curriculum, including Investigating International Drug &
Money Laundering Organizations, Investigating Public Corruption,
and Preparing & Assisting in Courtroom Procedures.
U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Special Agent Tampa,
Florida 1991-1998
U. S. Customs Service, Office of Enforcement
Senior Special Agent Tampa,
Florida 1983-1991
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division
Special Agent New
York, NY and Tampa, FL 1972-1983
At each of these government agencies, developed,
planned, conducted, and coordinated numerous long-term multi-agency
investigations of international drug trafficking and money
laundering organizations. Many of these investigations targeted
Colombian drug cartel leaders and financial institutions servicing
global criminal organizations. Functioned in various positions,
including project manager, case agent, and long term undercover
agent. Assignments required substantial undercover activity
throughout North America, South America, Central America,
Europe and the Caribbean. Testified extensively as a case
agent, undercover agent and an expert in both money laundering
and international drug trafficking. During a 27-year career,
assignments involved extensive tracing of assets and international
money flows. At the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, assignments
required strict adherence to accounting principles and often
involved the use of both direct and indirect methods of proof
(i.e. bank deposits method and net worth method of proof).
Case Experience
The subsequent case overviews provide a brief outline of
some of the work personally conducted over the past twenty
years.
U.S. vs. Luis Latorre et. al.
(1991-1995)
- Designed long-term undercover operation targeting international
money launderers, drug traffickers and corrupt law enforcement
officer servicing the Cali drug cartel.
- Functioned for two years in a full-time undercover capacity
as a corrupt businessman
operating financial service companies based in the U.S.,
Panama and Colombia.
- Maintained routine undercover contact with corrupt businessmen
and internationally known criminals involved in the laundering
of drug proceeds for Colombian drug kingpins, as well as
officials of globally prominent financial institutions involved
in the laundering of drug proceeds.
- Recorded hundreds of meetings with violators to document
offenses.
- Documented and traced the laundering of tens of millions
of dollars of drug proceeds to substantiate money laundering
and drug trafficking offenses by internationally known violators.
- Investigation resulted in the indictment/conviction of
numerous high level traffickers, money launderers, a corrupt
City of Tampa police detective, as well as the forfeiture
of approximately $5 million in drug proceeds.
U.S. vs. Bank of Credit & Commerce International et.
al. (BCCI)
(1986 -1991)
- Designed and implemented the undercover operation that
led to the convictions of BCCI and many of its high ranking
officers.
- Functioned as the lead undercover agent, as well as the
team leader of roughly twelve additional undercover agents
located throughout the U.S.
- Assumed a full-time undercover role for two years as a
financial consultant residing in Florida and New York.
- Negotiated agreements (in an undercover capacity) with
international drug traffickers to launder drug proceeds.
In addition, negotiated on behalf of traffickers with representatives
of corrupt international financial institutions relative
to money laundering services.
- Managed domestic and foreign undercover companies used
to facilitate the investigation. · Recorded approximately
1200 conversations with traffickers and money launderers,
and collected thousands of documents used to trace illicit
funds to their beneficial owners.
- Testified in numerous trials in Florida, New York and
London. In addition, testified before the U.S. Senate relative
to the pervasive criminal conduct of BCCI including global
political corruption (lengthy testimony in all trials, including
a twelve consecutive week period of testimony in one Tampa
criminal trial).
- Investigation resulted in the indictment of 84 individuals
worldwide, the seizure of more than 3,000 lbs. of cocaine,
and the collection of more than $525 million in forfeitures
and fines.
- BCCI was the 7th largest independently owned bank in the
world with brances in 72 countries. · BCCI's prosecution
was the first jury conviction of an international bank for
violations of the Money Laundering Control Act.
U.S. vs. George Meros et. al.
(1983 - 1986)
- Developed investigation of prominent professionals (attorney
and stockbroker) who were financing the smuggling of large
drug shipments and laundering drug proceeds for traffickers.
- Initiated and managed the development of critical informants
who were traffickers; conspiring with attorney Meros and
other professionals.
- Supervised and conducted consensual recordings of conversations
conducted by informants with corrupt professionals.
- Prepared and executed numerous search warrants, including
those which enabled searches of an entire law firm for records
of drug trafficking and money laundering.
- Established and supervised a taskforce of twelve agents
from eight different agencies, which gathered evidence relative
to offenses committed by Meros and his associates. &
- Prepared and initiated foreign treaty requests to obtain
critical evidence in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Sweden,
Grand Cayman, and the Netherlands Antilles.
- Investigation resulted in the conviction of 26 individuals,
including attorney Meros who was sentenced to a 40-year
prison term.
- Over $10 million worth of assets were seized and forfeited
via this investigation, including an 84-unit condominium
timeshare project, aircraft, yachts, automobiles and cash.
U.S. vs. Bruce Perlowin et. al.
(1981 - 1984)
- Functioned in an undercover capacity for six months as
a member of a cocaine smuggling/distribution group based
in Florida and Illinois. Responsible for maintaining the
books and records of the cocaine smuggling ring.
- Investigation resulted in the indictment of more than
100 individuals, including a Las Vegas casino owner, a casino
manager, attorneys, and an accountant charged with money
laundering offenses. Indictments were also returned against
the leader of a Thai marijuana and Colombian marijuana smuggling
ring.
- Over $10 million in assets were seized and forfeited via
this case, including shares of a nationwide hotel chain,
a commercial pier, vessels, homes, vehicles, aircraft and
cash.
U.S. vs. Palm State Bank et. al.
(1979- 1982)
Developed and investigated the Palm State Bank prosecution,
which resulted in the first jury conviction of a financial
institution for failure to file Currency Transaction Reports
(CTRs). Investigation resulted in convictions of the bank,
the CEO of the bank and the President of the bank, for failure
to file CTRs.
Education and Training
BS - Wagner College, Staten Island, New York (1972)
Major - Business Administration & Finance
Minor - Accounting
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DEA Basic Agent Training
U.S. Customs Undercover Training
U.S. Customs Special Agent Basic Training
IRS Instructor Training
IRS Undercover Training
IRS Basic IncomeTax Training
IRS Special Agent Basic Training
Treasury Law Enforcement Officer Training |
Awards and Commendations
Received numerous Exceptional Performance Awards from the
IRS, U.S. Customs, and DEA. In addition, received special
awards or commendations from the following:
- U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Florida - 1984
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, Narcotics & Dangerous
Drug Section - 1986
- U.S. Customs Service Commissioner's Award - 1986
- 1987 Financial Investigator of the Year - National
Association of Federal Investigators
- U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Von Raab - 1989
- U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York - 1989
- 1990 Federal Criminal Investigator of the Year -
National Association of Federal Investigators
- U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Hallett - 1990
· U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Florida
- 1995
- U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Florida, Asset
Forfeiture Division - 1996
- General Counsel for the Attorney General of Canada
- 1996
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Employee Performance Ratings
Continuously received "Excellent" or "Outstanding"
evaluation ratings from IRS, USCS, and DEA.
Conference / Training Presentations
Lectures have concerned issues relative to drug money laundering,
drug trafficking, long term undercover, fraud, and corruption.
Lectures/presentations have been given at:
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - Glynco, Georgia
- DEA Acadamy - Quantico, Virginia
- U.S. Senate - Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and
International Operations · U.S. House of Representatives
- Subcommittee on Domestic & International Monetary
Policy
- USCS Undercover Operative School - Leesburg, Virginia
- Her Majesty's Customs & Excise (HMCE) - London, England
- National Drug Intelligence Unit, New Scotland Yard - London,
England · Isle of Jersey Police and HMCE - Isle of
Jersey, United Kingdom
- Isle of Guernsey Police and HMCE - Isle of Guernsey, United
Kingdom
- Hendon Training Center, Metropolitan Police Dept., London
England
- American-Dutch Money Laundering & Organized Crime
Seminar - Orlando, Florida
- DOJ International Money Laundering Seminar - San Francisco,
California
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Center for Advanced
Law Enforcement Studies - Tampa, Florida
- International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence
Analysts - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- Regional Organized Crime Information Center's Training
and Information Exchange Conference - Louisville, Kentucky
- Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Center
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- U.S. Attorney's Seminar - Tampa, Florida
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Advanced Proceeds of Crimes
Seminar - Montreal, Canada
- Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association - Clearwater,
Florida
- National Assocation of Credit Managers (NACM)
- Finance, Credit & International Business Association
(FCIB)
Publications
October 2000: Business Credit (Vol. 102, No. 9, pp.32-35).
Title: A Tidal Wave of Risk on the
Horizon
(Part 1) - Why big and small businesses face new risks simply
by getting paid.
November 2000: Business Credit (Vol. 102, No. 10, pp.
64-69). Title: A Tidal Wave of Risk on the
Horizon
(Part 2) - Why Big and small businesses face new risks simply
by getting paid.
Expert Certification
1985 |
Qualified as an expert in money laundering
by U.S. Federal District Court Judge, Tampa, Florida,
during the criminal trial of U.S. vs. George N. Meros
et. al. |
1996 |
Qualified by Superior Court Judge, Montreal,
Canada as an expert in International Money Laundering
during the criminal trial of Her Majesty the Queen vs.
Tonino Callochia and Giovanni D'Angelo. |
1997 |
Qualified by Superior Court Judge, Montreal,
Canada, as an expert in International Drug Smuggling and
International Money Laundering during the Criminal trial
of Her Majesty the Queen vs. Sabatino Nicolucci |
Professional Organizations
- Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (Tampa
Chapter President, 1984 - 1998)
- Association of Former Special Agents of the Internal
Revenue Service
- Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents
- Association of Former Customs Special Agents
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
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