The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [121]
Let me stress this now. No morphine-base or fully refined merchandise should be allowed to slip into the hands of the U.S. military—for accountability’s sake—or into the hands of ARVN personnel. Most ARVNs are highly corruptible and cannot be trusted around saleable narcotics.
I think you’ll like my end of the cadre. I’ve co-opted an Army 1st Lt. named Preston Chaffee. He’s a language whiz, Airborne-certified and an all-around good scout. He’s my projected liaison to the ARVNs, the Saigon politicos and Premier Khanh.
I need to assess your projected plans and vet your chosen personnel. Can you pouch me, Vegas to Arlington?
For the Cause,
J.S.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 10/27/64. Pouch communiqué. To: John Stanton. From: Pete Bondurant. Marked: “Hand Pouch Deliver Only”/ “Destroy Upon Reading.”
J.S.,
I read your summary. Vietnam sounds like my kind of place.
Here’s my personnel:
1 - Wayne Tedrow Jr. U.S. Army, ’54–’58 (82nd Airborne Division). Former Las Vegas policeman. Chemistry degree/Brigham Young University/’59.
Tedrow’s solid. He’s proficient with small arms & larger weaponry. He’ll do a solid job on the chemical side. He told me he studied “opiate balances” & “narcotic component theory” in college. His plan is to find human “test pilots” or “guinea pigs” to test maximum dosage levels on, such as junkies or opium addicts with opiate tolerances. That way he can take the refining process to the final level in Saigon & ship street-ready merchandise back to Vegas.
Tedrow’s father is a big wheel in Nevada. Tedrow’s very estranged from him, but the old man has connections at Nellis AFB that we may be able to use. More on this later.
2, 3 - Laurent Guery & Flash Elorde.
You know them from our Miami days. They’ve been merc’ing out of Mexico City since late ’63 & they’re anxious to find a permanent duty station. They’re devoted to the Cause & will fit in on the cultivation, enforcement & distribution ends. Both men have ties to gulf coast-based exiles that we’ll be able to utilize.
4 - Jean Philippe Mesplede.
You sent me his dossier, so I won’t repeat his stats. I met him in Mexico City & liked him. He’s French-English fluent & knows some Vietnamese dialect from his ’53–’54 tour. He’s got in-country narcotics experience, along with some exile ties & is solidly committed to the Cause.
5 - Chuck Rogers.
Another old Tiger ops grad. You know his stats: pilot, wet-arts, shortwave radio skills. Deep exile ties & connections on the southern gun circuit. A valuable all-around guy. He wants to distribute hate leaflets and broadcast short-wave tirades in-country, & I’ll humor him on that until it gets out of hand.
6 - Bob Relyea.
I don’t know him & I’m hiring him off Rogers’ recommendation. (They’ve been shortwave buddies for years. Rogers vouches for him & he’s already in-country.)
Relyea’s a Staff Sgt. with the MP Brigade in Saigon. He was formerly a prison guard in Missouri & has strong right-wing ties in the south. He’s allegedly a great sharpshooter & all-around weapons man.
Per my plan:
I want to get into Laos quick & have Tran Lao Dinh negotiate with the “warlords” for their poppy farms. I want to bribe the right ARVN men & other Saigon officials to procure us the right level of protection. Then I’ll have Rogers fix up a small 2-engine aircraft & fly circuits from Laos to Saigon. He’ll conduit the morphine-base to Tedrow’s lab & double as an enforcer at the slave farm(s).
Per the stateside conduit:
I’d like to ship via Agency-courier flights to Nellis. I’ve got a well-placed lawyer friend who may be able to pull strings & get us clearance there. Then we’ll distribute out of Tiger Kab, to (expendable) Negro pushers who’ll push exclusively in West Vegas. Rogers, Guery & Elorde will funnel the final profits to exile groups on the gulf.
The team is solid. I’m confident that they’ll work well together. Let’s stay focused on the Cuban end of things.