From the moment Chris Neary hoisted the 15-kilogram backpack full of pot onto his shoulders, he had a sinking feeling that the smuggling mission he'd signed up for was not going to turn out as planned.
Standing at his side in the darkness were three other men he barely knew, each carrying a similar-sized pack full of marijuana. Ahead of him lay a gruelling 16-hour trek — including five hours on his hands and knees crawling on a mountaintop — between Cultus Lake in British Columbia and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington State.
That trek could have ended with a $10,000 cash payoff and financial breathing room for the struggling business that the former Telus marketing director said he was desperate to salvage. Instead, the smuggling expedition ended in drug-trafficking charges, with Mr. Neary now facing the possibility of a lengthy U.S. jail term.
"When they gave me the backpack, I knew I'd made a mistake, but by that point I was in too deep and had to commit to it," Mr. Neary said in an interview with The Globe and Mail, his first since his arrest. "I didn't know who else was involved or how serious of a nature these people were."
Mr. Neary, 34, owner of the Vancouver ad agency Frank Communications and former director of marketing for Telus, was one of five people arrested near the Canada-U.S border on April 26 and charged with conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Court documents say U.S. border agents found Mr. Neary and two other men, Duncan, B.C., resident Daryl Fontana and a Bosnian immigrant named Sinisa Gavric, "hiding in the woods near the snowline" in Mount Baker National Forest.
Police recovered four backpacks full of marijuana weighing a total of 60 kilograms and arrested a fourth man, Carl Andrew Thiessen, as he arrived on the scene in a sport utility vehicle. The suspected organizer of the expedition, Richard Bafaro, was arrested a short time later at a Bellingham, Wash., hotel. All five men have pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Neary, who returned to Vancouver on May 25 after nearly a month in custody, agreed to tell his story but declined to comment on his interactions with the co-accused or the specific circumstances of his arrest, saying lawyers have advised him to keep that information confidential until his trial begins.
A self-described "ideas guy," Mr. Neary enjoyed considerable success in the advertising business at a young age, most notably as a driving force behind Telus's well-known animal-themed advertising campaign.
He left Telus 3½ years ago to start Frank Communications, but the upstart firm was hit hard by the recession. He worked "400 per cent harder," invested in new projects, sought out business partnerships and remortgaged his house — twice — yet continued sliding toward bankruptcy.
This spring, broke, desperate and isolated from his friends, Mr. Neary decided in a "moment of bravado" that the smuggling scheme might help buy him some time.
"I was so hell bent on making my business the same kind of success I've had in the rest of my career, I just overlooked the ramifications of it," he said, estimating the $10,000 payoff would have supplied "about a month's worth" of cash flow.
"It was desperation and ignorance. ... I was isolated," he said. "I didn't ask anyone's opinion on it. I just did it."
Mr. Neary said his ego and competitive drive prevented him from admitting failure and walking away from the business. "I felt it was up to me to turn things around and I tried to do everything myself," he said. "My ego took me to the top of a mountain, literally."
Personal and professional risks aside, Mr. Neary said the cross-border hike was a terrifying physical challenge that he would not want to repeat under any circumstances.
"It was incredibly steep. There's a five-hour stretch where you're just crawling on your hands and knees in the dead on night in subzero temperatures," he said. "Just the physicality of this trek, it's something you would never do twice."
All five suspects are scheduled to face a trial by jury beginning July 6. If convicted, they face maximum penalties of 20 years and $1-million (U.S.) fines.
However, Mr. Neary has co-operated with authorities, has no previous criminal history and played a secondary role in the smuggling operation, all of which can be mitigating factors in sentencing, staff at the state attorney's office in Seattle said.
Whatever lies ahead, Mr. Neary said he's ready to prove to his friends and colleagues that he's "better than this one situation."
"I've had humility slap me in the face," he said, "and I want to stay accountable to it and move forward."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Brennan Clarke
Copyright: 2010 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Standing at his side in the darkness were three other men he barely knew, each carrying a similar-sized pack full of marijuana. Ahead of him lay a gruelling 16-hour trek — including five hours on his hands and knees crawling on a mountaintop — between Cultus Lake in British Columbia and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington State.
That trek could have ended with a $10,000 cash payoff and financial breathing room for the struggling business that the former Telus marketing director said he was desperate to salvage. Instead, the smuggling expedition ended in drug-trafficking charges, with Mr. Neary now facing the possibility of a lengthy U.S. jail term.
"When they gave me the backpack, I knew I'd made a mistake, but by that point I was in too deep and had to commit to it," Mr. Neary said in an interview with The Globe and Mail, his first since his arrest. "I didn't know who else was involved or how serious of a nature these people were."
Mr. Neary, 34, owner of the Vancouver ad agency Frank Communications and former director of marketing for Telus, was one of five people arrested near the Canada-U.S border on April 26 and charged with conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Court documents say U.S. border agents found Mr. Neary and two other men, Duncan, B.C., resident Daryl Fontana and a Bosnian immigrant named Sinisa Gavric, "hiding in the woods near the snowline" in Mount Baker National Forest.
Police recovered four backpacks full of marijuana weighing a total of 60 kilograms and arrested a fourth man, Carl Andrew Thiessen, as he arrived on the scene in a sport utility vehicle. The suspected organizer of the expedition, Richard Bafaro, was arrested a short time later at a Bellingham, Wash., hotel. All five men have pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Neary, who returned to Vancouver on May 25 after nearly a month in custody, agreed to tell his story but declined to comment on his interactions with the co-accused or the specific circumstances of his arrest, saying lawyers have advised him to keep that information confidential until his trial begins.
A self-described "ideas guy," Mr. Neary enjoyed considerable success in the advertising business at a young age, most notably as a driving force behind Telus's well-known animal-themed advertising campaign.
He left Telus 3½ years ago to start Frank Communications, but the upstart firm was hit hard by the recession. He worked "400 per cent harder," invested in new projects, sought out business partnerships and remortgaged his house — twice — yet continued sliding toward bankruptcy.
This spring, broke, desperate and isolated from his friends, Mr. Neary decided in a "moment of bravado" that the smuggling scheme might help buy him some time.
"I was so hell bent on making my business the same kind of success I've had in the rest of my career, I just overlooked the ramifications of it," he said, estimating the $10,000 payoff would have supplied "about a month's worth" of cash flow.
"It was desperation and ignorance. ... I was isolated," he said. "I didn't ask anyone's opinion on it. I just did it."
Mr. Neary said his ego and competitive drive prevented him from admitting failure and walking away from the business. "I felt it was up to me to turn things around and I tried to do everything myself," he said. "My ego took me to the top of a mountain, literally."
Personal and professional risks aside, Mr. Neary said the cross-border hike was a terrifying physical challenge that he would not want to repeat under any circumstances.
"It was incredibly steep. There's a five-hour stretch where you're just crawling on your hands and knees in the dead on night in subzero temperatures," he said. "Just the physicality of this trek, it's something you would never do twice."
All five suspects are scheduled to face a trial by jury beginning July 6. If convicted, they face maximum penalties of 20 years and $1-million (U.S.) fines.
However, Mr. Neary has co-operated with authorities, has no previous criminal history and played a secondary role in the smuggling operation, all of which can be mitigating factors in sentencing, staff at the state attorney's office in Seattle said.
Whatever lies ahead, Mr. Neary said he's ready to prove to his friends and colleagues that he's "better than this one situation."
"I've had humility slap me in the face," he said, "and I want to stay accountable to it and move forward."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Brennan Clarke
Copyright: 2010 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
