Guilty plea in drug-ring case

Published 9:00 pm Friday, September 9, 2005

SEATTLE – A Woodinville man likely is headed to prison for at least 17 years after pleading guilty to helping lead a drug ring that smuggled hundreds of pounds of cocaine into Canada in exchange for large quantities of potent “B.C. bud” marijuana.

Robert V. Kesling, 26, on Friday pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge. His sentencing is set for Dec. 2 before U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez.

Kesling is the latest person to face prison for his role in what federal prosecutors have described in court papers as “a very substantial drug-trafficking organization with active ties to Mexico and Canada.”

The investigation became public in February when a bankrupt Portland, Ore., businessman, Douglas Bryan Spink, 34, was caught as he drove along U.S. 2 in Monroe with 372 pounds of cocaine stuffed in suitcases. Spink had been living in Chilliwack, B.C.

Federal agents watched Spink pick up the cocaine in an Everett parking lot from Wesley Kenneth Cornett, 27, of Shoreline. Both men have pleaded guilty and face a minimum 10 years in prison at sentencing later in the year.

Also caught in the investigation were two local attorneys who admitted committing federal felonies in how they handled some of the ring’s drug money.

James Lloyd White, 49, a defense attorney who was also a part-time Edmonds Municipal Court judge, likely faces two years in prison after pleading guilty in July to money laundering.

White in court admitted that he accepted from Kesling a backpack filled with $100,000 in cash. He hid the money in his house, and then assisted Kesling in hiring a Shoreline lawyer, A. Mark Vanderveen, to represent Cornett when he was jailed not long after Spink’s arrest.

White also admitted that he left $10,000 in a brown paper bag for Vanderveen at the Edmonds courthouse, and also paid the attorney another $10,000 in a parking-lot meeting, according to court papers.

Vanderveen, 45, is a former Snohomish County deputy prosecutor. He pleaded guilty to failing to disclose the cash transaction. He likely faces six months or less in prison.

As part of his plea agreement, Kesling agreed to forfeit vehicles, firearms and homes as well as other property the government believes was purchased with drug profits. Among the items he has forfeited was cash he paid to others, including his attorney.

As part of their guilty pleas, White and Vanderveen agreed to testify against Kesling, who faced a November trial.

Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.