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FELLOW
TRAVELER |
Tinsel
Town Bigwigs Nabbed by Narcs
Hurray
for Hollywood!
by Jim
Kouri [commentator]
6/16/06 |
The
Drug Enforcement Administration announced during a press conference
the success of "Operation Director’s Cut," a
two-year investigation involving an international ecstasy and
weapons trafficking organization with Hollywood connections.
Those connections included the granddaughter of film legend
Charlie Chaplin.
Seven arrests
took place in the case, including those of Limelight Films,
Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bruno D’Esclavelles of Los
Angeles, Chief Financial Officer David Liberman, and three
other associates. The company produced an Oscar-nominated film
and was named for the classic Chaplin motion picture "Limelight."
Also arrested
was Alexandre De Basseville of Switzerland and Los Angeles.
De Basseville is an executive board member of ADB Swiss S.A.,
a Swiss-based financial, business, and consulting service that
owns the L.A.-based Limelight Films, Inc.
Contributor
Jim
Kouri
Jim
Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the
National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former
chief at a New York City housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters
covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he
served as director of public safety at a New Jersey
university. He's also served on the National
Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers
throughout the country. He writes for many police
and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police
Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal,
and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator
for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including
Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox
News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available
at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered
at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science
in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration
and he's a board certified protection professional. [go
to Kouri index]
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Various media outlets have reported that De Basseville is engaged
to Kiera Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin. According
to the Limelight Films, Inc. website Kiera Chaplin serves as
an executive with the motion picture production company.
De Basseville and
D’Esclavelles were arrested in Arlington,
Virginia and charged with conspiracy to distribute MDMA known
as ecstasy. Liberman was charged with conspiring to launder money.
“The men we arrested have laundered hundreds of thousands
of dollars -- money used to further their drug and weapons trade
to endanger our neighborhoods and bleed our communities," said
DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy during a press conference in
Washington.
"This operation
demonstrates once again the poisoning influence of drug money,
and the greed that causes some people to hurt
the lives of the many."
According filed court papers, Alexandre De Basseville met repeatedly
with undercover agents posing as international drug traffickers
over the last two years. De Basseville offered to launder drug
proceeds, supply weapons and broker ecstasy deals for the undercover
agents.
The undercovers met with De Basseville and several of his associates,
including the other six suspects who are charged, in various
locations, including Arlington, Virginia; Miami, Florida; Los
Angeles, California; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Geneva,
Switzerland.
On two occasions,
De Basseville and D’Esclavelles took
cash, totaling $300,000, which they believed to be drug proceeds,
and laundered it for the undercover agents using their Los Angeles
business, Limelight Films, Inc.
In February 2006,
de Basseville and d’Esclavelles arranged
for the sale of ecstasy from the Netherlands by Thomas Frischknecht
to an undercover agent. Frischknecht sent the agent a package
containing 10,000 pills, which the agent received in Arlington,
Virginia. After that shipment, de Basseville, d’Esclavelles
and Frischknecht agreed to sell the agent 500,000 pills in the
Netherlands. Frischknecht was arrested in the Netherlands as
the undercover agent negotiated for the delivery of 500,000 ecstasy
pills.
Thomas Frischknecht, age 26, of Switzerland, was arrested in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and charged with conspiracy to import
ecstasy. Authorities also arrested Fabian Pruvot, age 37, Andre
Prikazhikov, age 31, and Brian Delansky, age 33, all of Los Angeles,
California. Pruvot and Liberman were charged with conspiracy
to launder money. Prikazhikov and Delansky were charged with
conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Keira Chaplin, 23,
has not been arrested and is believed to be involved in legitimate
film projects. Recent and current Limelight
projects include: The Oscar-nominated film “The Professional” (Serbia)
and Vladimir Alenikov's "The Gun," both Montreal Film
Festival Selections, and a new reality television show “Scavenger
Hunt."
One undercover agent,
who wished to remain anonymous, quipped, "As
far as this Hollywood crowd, they will just 'fade to black' in
the justice system." -CRO-
Sources: Santa Ana, CA Police Department, Federal Bureau
of Investigation, US Attorney's Office, California Highway
Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, National
Association of Chiefs of Police, American Federation of Police
copyright
2006 Jim Kouri
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