Markowski has long criminal past
East Chicago native has drug ties to Manuel Noriega, Medellin cartel
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 26, 2003
Small airplanes packed with cocaine taking off from Colombian jungles and later landing in Northwest Indiana.
Gunfights along airstrips.
Low flights skimming the Atlantic Ocean to avoid radar.
It's the stuff of movies.
Except, according to federal indictments throughout the 1980s, it was among the real-life experiences of Ron Markowski.
Markowski is now being tied to the 1999 East Chicago sidewalk scandal which has, so far, resulted in six indictments.
Markowski had been out of federal prison about three years, records show, when private property began being paved at taxpayer expense, all in anticipation of Mayor Robert Pastrick's upcoming election.
At least one contractor involved said Markowski was his contact for city work.
Markowski would neither confirm nor deny his involvement in that scandal.
But questions about his past brought forth instant anger.
"I did the crime and I did my time," the 65-year-old angrily replied.
In 1983, federal officials said Markowski was among those at the head of an international drug ring, through which millions of dollars were funneled and tons of cocaine and marijuana were smuggled into the United States.
From 1977 through 1983, prosecutors said, Markowski mingled with those later tied to ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and famed Colombian Medellin drug cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar.
Markowski was one of 41 people indicted in 1983, part of an investigation federal officials dubbed "Operation Skycaine."
They said Markowski, an accomplished pilot, flew and directed flights from Colombia through the Bahamas, into Florida and, ultimately, landing at Northwest Indiana airports with thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana.
Prosecutors estimate he was personally responsible for flying at least 49,000 pounds of marijuana and two tons of cocaine into the United States, for which he was paid around $1 million.
Convicted of nine felonies, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison, without parole.
It surprised some people -- including federal officials -- when a Post-Tribune investigation linked him to the East Chicago sidewalk scandal.
Some thought he was still in prison.
Others thought he was dead.
But the Post-Tribune recently found him living in the same neighborhood where he grew up.
Though Markowski wasn't eager to talk about his high-profile past, court records and newspaper reports chronicle his rise and fall and give some indications as to how he was back in East Chicago just 10 years into his 45-year sentence.
The operation
It was 1977 when Markowski began making runs for drugs in small Piper and Cessna planes, federal prosecutors said.
Over the next five years, they said, he flew and directed flights in and out of airports in Lansing, Gary, Valparaiso and LaPorte, bound for Colombia.
Among those Markowski introduced to the trade, records show, were Andrew James, then 25, of Dyer; James Millsap and Jack Griechunos, both then 34 and of Hammond; and Eric Demchak and Jack Hubbard, then LaPorte residents, ages unknown, all of whom were also indicted.
Some of them would testify against Markowski.
Others testified against foreign kingpins bigger than him.
It is through those court hearings that the made-for-movies storylines are uncovered:
* When a plane Markowski sent out for dope crashed, he dispatched a helicopter rescue.
* When one runner crash-landed on a far-off island, he was ordered to use the bales of marijuana to build a hut until Markowski could send help.
* When Markowski and an accomplice temporarily landed on a remote airstrip in Georgia with 1,800 pounds of marijuana on board, a gunfight eventually ensued with police.
* A plane so packed with cocaine it had to detour and ditch somewhere in Belize, crashed anyway, due to its heavy load.
* A Miami attorney set up a dummy company, Marlowe Enterprises, using part of Markowski's name, to register planes in the operation, just in case they were ever seized.
* Miamian Jack Devoe started an airline service strictly as a smuggling front.
Even after Markowski was indicted, prosecutors said, he continued running drugs, picking up a shipment of 1,900 pounds of marijuana at the LaPorte County Airport in 1983.
Court records show Markowski was welcomed to the ring by a high-profile Bahamian attorney, F. Nigel Bowe, who, witnesses testified, funnelled money to the Bahamian government to ensure Markowski's flights wouldn't be bothered en route to the states.
Markowski's Colombian contact, court records show, was Jose "Pepe" Cabrera, alternately described as an independent trafficker and "a big shot" with the famed Medellin cartel.
Escobar headed that cartel.
Cabrera was indicted two years after Markowski, and in 1994 Bowe was indicted.
Cabrera would later testify against both Bowe and Noriega.
From the time Markowski was convicted in 1984 to the time Bowe was indicted in 1994, Markowski had filed about a dozen requests to appeal his conviction or reduce his 45-year sentence.
For 10 years, Markowski couldn't even get a hearing.
Then, just months after Bowe's indictment, Markowski was granted a hearing.
And, in September 1995, he was released from a low-security prison in Milan, Mich.
Most of the records from Markowski's successful appeal hearing have been sealed.
But court records and Miami Herald newspaper reports show that in the months preceding his release, some of the most powerful drug dealers in the world were indicted.
Reporter Steve Patterson can be reached at 648-3105 or spatterson@post-trib.com.
Mayor Robert Pastrick declined to return calls seeking an explanation as to why Markowski would be in a position to speak on behalf of the city and to dole out work.
It's not clear how many other contractors took orders from Markow-ski, nor is it clear who was Markow-ski's city contact.
Court records show that 20 years ago Markowski, 65, mingled with the elite of the drug-dealing world, rubbing shoulders with those later tied to the likes of former Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar and ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.
Now, he has been tied to the Pastrick administration.
Markowski was indicted in 1983, sentenced to 45 years in prison, but only served 10 years after cooperating with federal officials on other drug cases.
Markowski, reached at his East Chicago home, angrily demanded to know the name of the person who had linked him to the sidewalk scandal.
He berated Johnson and city officials but would neither confirm nor deny his involvement.
"Those people (at City Hall) don't intimidate me whatsoever," Markowski said. "I'm no idiot. I did 20 years (sic). Those (expletives) don't scare me."
Then, he demanded, "Leave me out of your story."
Verbal deal goes sour
It was just a few months before the May 1999 primary, Johnson said, when he got a phone call from Markowski.
"He said he had city work," Johnson recalled. "He wanted to know if we were interested."
City officials began preparing for paving work in late 1998, planning to spend $450,000 on sidewalks.
A year later, $20 million had been spent on paving sidewalks, driveways and patios, removing trees and doing other work for residents at city expense.
Plans to obtain bids were thrown out the window, prosecutors say, and instead work was doled out on an oral basis.
Work went to established companies and to companies created just before work started, some without proper licensing or bonding, as required.
It was a flurry of work that saw private work done with public money, prosecutors say, to encourage votes for Pastrick and his City Council allies in the 1999 primary.
While three of those council members and three Pastrick department heads have been indicted for their roles in the plan, Pastrick has denied any involvement or knowledge of it.
Johnson said he never dealt with anyone from the city -- nor did he submit a public bid, nor did he sign a city contract.
Instead, he said, all of his work went through Markowski and Cal-umet Concrete.
In early 1999, Johnson said, Markowski introduced him to Calumet Concrete owner Bob Velligan, through whom all tree removal work would be done.
Johnson said he submitted all bills to Velligan, who, he said, would include a substantial markup before submitting an invoice to the city for payment.
But their deal, he said, fell apart after the first payment.
"His first bill to the city was for $37,000 and he cut me my $17,000," Johnson explained. "But then, for a year, I had to try and get the rest.
"It was ridiculous."
City records show at least three payments of an estimated $37,000 to Calumet Concrete between April and May 1999, but with no indication of what type of work was billed.
But court records show Dave's Tree Service sued Calumet Concrete in April 2000, seeking damages for failure to pay on work done.
They settled out of court in 2001. Neither Johnson nor his attorney, Michael Dobosz, would reveal settlement figures. City attorney Dave Cerven did not respond to messages, while Velligan has not returned repeated calls.
But Johnson said, "We had four crews working seven days a week for two to three months. That's $200,000 a month for two or three months."
Johnson said he "took an $80,000 hit" because outside of his company records, he couldn't prove every tree he'd cut.
"The stumps were gone," he said. "There was concrete over some of them. We knew a tree had been done, but it was gone.
"Then things got sticky."
Plenty of regrets
Things got sticky because, almost immediately after Pastrick's 1999 victory, federal officials began investigating.
A four-year investigation culminated in a September indictment that leveled 72 charges against six city officials.
The six -- City Councilmen Frank Kollintzas , Joe DeLaCruz and Adrian Santos, city engineer Pedro Porras, city controller Edwardo Maldonado and park director Joe Valdez -- are set to be tried together in 2004.
Campaign finance reports show no contributions by Markowski to those officials, Pastrick or elected officials from the Roxanna area.
Johnson said he doesn't know where Markowski got his daily orders, and "I didn't want to know -- as long as I got paid."
Court records verify that Johnson did get paid for the work done in East Chicago, but records showing an exact amount couldn't be located by Lake County Court Clerk staff.
City records show no direct payments to Dave's Tree Service but do include $100,000 in payments to Calumet Concrete specifically for trees.
All told, city records show, $5.1 million was paid to Calumet Concrete.
"After an internal city audit, we settled for a percentage on the dollar," Dobosz said. "Dave and Calumet Concrete walked away relatively unhappy -- everybody took a loss on this. But Dave wanted to get past it."
State Board of Accounts officials say while Dave's Tree Service may have received a settlement, the company owes East Chicago taxpayers money.
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter is responsible for recovering $2.5 million in private work done with public money -- including $130,000 paid to Dave's Tree Service and $1.7 million from Calumet Concrete.
But Johnson says all blame should fall on the city.
"It wasn't my fault they mismanaged things," he said. "I was doing what I was told. Now, I wish I never got involved."
Caption: Drugs from South America Planes carrying drugs flew from Columbia to the Bahamas, then into the United States through Miami before making their way to Northwest Indiana. Miami Bahamas Panama Markowski's link to the Columbia's Medellin drug cartel was Jose "Pepe" Cabrera of Bogota, Colombia. Cabrera was a multimillionaire cocaine supplier who had ties to the famed Medellin cartel. He was Markowski's cocaine connection and later testified against ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Cabrera was Markowski's link to Pablo Escobar, head of the notorious Medellin cartel. Escobar is considered the world's first billionaire who made his money strictly through dealing drugs. He was killed by authorities in 1993. Columbia Escobar filtered money to Manuel Noriega in Panama. Noriega was convicted of allowing drugs to flow from Colombia, through his country, en route to the United States. Cabrera said Noriega was a main contact for Colombian dealers. F. Nigel Bowe of the Bahamas was a high-profile attorney with connections to then-Prime Minister Lynen Pindling. Bowe was accused of funneling money from drug dealers to top Bahamian officials and law enforcement, ensuring smuggling planes stopping over wouldn't be bothered.(PHOTO) Ronald Markowski of East Chicago was a pilot who was at the head of an international drug ring and smuggled thousands of pounds of Colombian dope into the U.S. from 1977 through 1983; bringing drugs through airports in Lansing, Ill., Gary, Valparaiso and LaPorte. Convicted in 1984, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison without parole. But he was released 10 years into his sentence, shortly after several of the top drug dealers in the world began to be indicted. Records of his release have been sealed by the U.S. government.(PHOTO) (MAP) (PHOTO) (PHOTO)
