Marijuana smuggler gets one year for 1978 scheme

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Former freestyle ski champion Michael Lund, on the lam for 23 years after his indictment in a plot to smuggle 50 tons of marijuana into Washington, has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison, and could be free by Christmas.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour sentenced Lund on Friday, using the sentencing structure in place in 1978, when Lund was indicted with nine others — all convicted years ago. Prosecutors had sought a three-year sentence.

Under federal sentencing guidelines imposed in the 1980s, Lund could have faced a 30-year sentence had he been charged today.

With credit for time served and good behavior, Lund — who pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana — could be out in a few months.

Now 65, thin and balding, Lund told the judge before sentencing that he "entered into events of his own free will," and accepted responsibility for his actions.

The U.S. Marshals Service caught up with Lund in May at a cut-rate motel in Denver after he was fingerprinted during a custody dispute with his third wife, years after their 1990 divorce.

A son and three daughters from his first two marriages had thought he was dead, and two of them had an emotional reunion with him at Friday’s proceeding.

"It’s nice to bring some closure to this," said Eric Lund, who lives in San Diego. He said his children "are all eager to meet their grandfather. I’ve been honest with them. They’re excited to know he’s OK."

"It’s incredible to be able to have a father again, a father I never thought I would have," said Heidi Grady, who also lives in California and came to Seattle with her brother and family friends.

"I’ve already started planning ski trips that we plan to take together," she said. "We’re really excited."

In his presentence remarks, Lund thanked his children for forgiving him. "It’s truly a gift I feel unworthy of."

Defense attorney Richard Troberman said it would have made "absolutely no sense" to imprison Lund for more than a year.

Assistant U.S. attorney Ron Friedman noted that despite Lund’s apparent contrition, "I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that he had to be caught" to get him to court.

Lund had "missed all those days with his kids" for what amounts to less than a year in prison, Friedman said. "I wouldn’t want to miss a day."

The smuggling attempt ended when the Coast Guard boarded a freighter from Colombia about 130 miles off Washington’s coast. Authorities seized 37 tons of pot from the vessel, which was reported headed north. Authorities say Lund visited the freighter several times, offloading marijuana onto his 61-foot racing sloop and ferrying it to his home in Sequim.

Using the alias Steven McCain, Lund worked in construction and as a motel clerk. He ran a fishing business in Santa Barbara, Calif., and a glider business in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Both businesses failed and he declared bankruptcy in 1993.

He married again, had two sons and divorced again. In May, a judge in Colorado jailed him for failing to produce tax documents during a custody dispute with his third wife. A routine fingerprint check revealed his identity.

Decades ago, Lund was a world champion in the then-fledgling sport of freestyle skiing. His specialty was the ballet category, and many credit him with creating a professional association of freestyle skiers.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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