Informant (85 page)

346
Details of the state-of-severance negotiations between ADM and Whitacre as of August 2, 1995, from a memo describing a meeting the following day at the Justice Department, where Williams & Connolly presented a copy of the tentative severance agreement. The memo, dated August 16, 1995, was written by Scott Hammond, an attorney in the Antitrust Division.

347–55
Some details of Whitacre’s first confession and the related conversation from a 302 prepared by Shepard and Herndon and dated August 2, 1995.

353
No substantive evidence ever emerged indicating that Frankel received money as part of an ADM bonus plan. Again, Frankel has denied all wrongdoing and was never charged.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

356–58
Details of the meeting between Williams & Connolly and the antitrust attorneys from the detailed August 16, 1995, memorandum written by Hammond.

356
Details of the handwriting expert’s findings from the original document report of July 24, 1995, by Lyndal L. Shanefelt.

357
In the presentation to the Justice Department, Williams & Connolly incorrectly described these letters as saying that the Whitacre embezzlement amounted to $2.5 million—essentially rounding it to the nearest half million dollars. The actual amount of $2.35 million comes from a copy of the original letter.

358–59
Details of Whitacre’s phone call to Shepard on August 3, 1995, from one of two 302s of their conversations on that day.

363
The Chicago city corruption case with the informant who committed crimes while working for the FBI was Operation Silver Shovel. Details of that investigation and the informant’s troubles from Matt O’Connor, “Silver Shovel Dirt Piles Up,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 11, 1996, News section, p. 1.

365–66
Details of the meeting between Williams & Connolly and Seth Waxman on August 4, 1995, come from a memo to the file written by Waxman immediately after the lawyers left his office.

368–71
Some details of the August 4 meeting between the Whitacres, Shepard, and Kate Killham from the 302 prepared of those discussions.

372
Some details of Page’s meeting with Whitacre from the 302 of his FBI interview, dated November 25, 1996.

372
Details of the I.O.L.A. account set up by Caiazzo from two documents in Whitacre’s Swiss bank records, including a statement of account for account number PO-50,933.0 at the Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich, as well as a copy of the original wire-transfer order, dated August 4, 1995.

372–73
The confrontation between Mark and Ginger Whitacre was described separately by the couple in their subsequent interviews with Dr. Derek Miller, and were described in Dr. Miller’s notes of the interview dated August 11, 1995.

373
The news of Whitacre’s thefts from the Associated Press, “ADM Fires Mole, Says He Stole at Least $2.5 Million,’’ August 7, 1995.

374
Epstein described the last-minute change in Whitacre’s story to his client’s psychiatrist, Dr. Derek Miller of Chicago. Some details from this scene from the doctor’s notes of that discussion, dated August 9, 1995.

374–80
Some details of Whitacre’s August 7 interview with the FBI and the Fraud Section from a 302 prepared by Supervisory Special Agent Edward Herbst.

381
Details of Bassett’s role as Michael McLoughlin from Christopher Drew and William B. Crawford Jr., “Indictments Name 46 Traders,’’
Chicago Tribune
, August 3, 1989, p.1.

382–86
Rusty Williams described the events on the morning of August 9, 1995, in an interview with Special Agent Shepard on June 24, 1996. Some details from the 302 of that interview.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

387
Some details of Dr. Derek Miller’s contacts with Epstein and the Whitacres from his admission note for Patrick O’Brien, the alias he used for Mark Whitacre, dated August 9–10, 1995.

387–88
In subsequent recollections of these events to government officials, the precise timing of the Borasky call to Ginger Whitacre was in dispute, with some people claiming it had occurred on August 10, 1995, rather than August 9. However, everyone agreed that subsequent to that call, Borasky received the fax from Joseph Caiazzo. I have established the timing through a copy of that original fax, which carries an electronic “telltale’’ that clearly establishes the transmission time of the document as being on August 9, 1995, at 11:28 in the morning. Some details of this scene are from that letter, as well as from the 302 of Borasky’s interview with D’Angelo, and an August 16, 1995, memo by the Department of Justice of an interview with Paul Myer by Brenda Carlton. Other details are from Myer’s 302 with D’Angelo, from August 25, 1995.

388–90
Details of Dr. Derek Miller’s first meeting with Whitacre from his admission note of August 9–10, 1995.

391–92
Some details of Walsh’s hunt for the truth about Whitacre’s adoption history from “Whistle-blower Leaves Trail of Contradictions: Former ADM Executive Mark Whitacre’s Life Includes Puzzles, Inconsistencies,’’
Washington Post
, August 11, 1995, p. D1.

393–94
Some details of Daniel’s conversation with D’Angelo and Bassett from a memorandum recording an attorney contact, written by D’Angelo on August 11, 1995.

394
Details of the Swiss investigation as of August 1995—including the conversations with Rolf Brüggermann, from a series of faxes sent by Triet to Swiss bankers in Zurich during that month, including a letter of August 10, 1995, to Brüggermann.

396–97
Details of Miller’s conversations up through August 10 from his admission note of August 9–10, 1995.

397
Details of Miller’s conversations with Whitacre of August 11 from his progress note of that day for Patrick O’Brien, the alias he used for Mark Whitacre. Other information from Miller’s notes of an interview with Ginger Whitacre on that same day.

400
Details of the work by private investigators in Thailand from an August 14, 1995, memorandum prepared by Steve Vickers, Deepak Bhawnani, and Eric Hui regarding the “Williams & Connolly case.’’

401–402
Details of the letter sent to the
Wall Street Journal
from Kilman and Burton, “Ever More Serious: ADM Informant Faces Widening Allegations; He Attempts Suicide,’’
Wall Street Journal
, August 14, 1995, p. A1.

402
Fortune
press release from the original document sent out over PR Newswire on August 12, 1995.

403
Whitacre’s quotes in
Fortune
from “My Life as a Corporate Mole for the FBI,’’
Fortune
, September 4, 1995, p. 52.

403
Details of the fax sent to Briel from a copy of the original document. While the document is dated August 8, there is no doubt it was sent the following week. Not only is that confirmed by the fax telltale, but also by the dates of when the three checks were written on Whitacre’s Swiss bank account.

403–404
Some details regarding Herndon’s notification of the pending Whitacre indictment from the August 15, 1995, teletype.

405–406
Details of Whitacre’s note to Beat Schweizer from a copy of the original document.

406
Some details of Gilbert’s receipt of the package from Switzerland from his sworn testimony, given December 20, 1997, in
ADM v. Mark E. Whitacre
.

406–407
Some details of the resolution of Whitacre’s pending indictment from an August 22, 1995, memo from Peter Clark to George Martin, an Assistant United States Attorney in Mobile, and Special Agent Craig Dahle.

407–408
Some details of the scene where the FBI serves Williams & Connolly with a subpoena come from a 302 written by Herbst and Stuber on August 16, 1995.

408
Bob Dole’s comments at the Illinois State Fair from Anthony Man, “Senator Predicts Probe Won’t Hurt Company’s Clout in Washington,’’
Decatur Herald & Review
, August 17, 1995, p. 1A.

408–409
Details of Brenda Carlton’s interview with Myer from a memo she wrote to Gary Spratling, dated August 16, 1995.

409
The conversation between Bassett, D’Angelo, and Zaideman was recorded in an internal FBI memo written by the agents on August 21, 1995. Other details from an August 17, 1995, memo written by Zaideman to Jim Epstein. Details of the August 18, 1995, conversation between Bassett and Miller from a 302 written September 8, 1995.

410–11
The quote from Herndon’s August 21, 1995, teletype from a copy of the original document.

411
Details of the
Journal
article from Kilman and Burton, “ADM Asserts Ex-official Diverted Over $9 Million,’’
Wall Street Journal
, August 21, 1995, p. A2.

411–12
The items obtained from Williams & Connolly on August 21, 1995, were described in a 302 written by Herbst on that date.

412–13
Details of D’Angelo’s interview with Myer from a 302 of August 25, 1995, for case file number 196D-CG-99593.

413–14
Some details of Liz Taylor’s meeting with ADM lawyers and the subsequent outcome from the 302 of her interview with Bassett and D’Angelo, dated January 18, 1996.

416–22
Details of Whitacre’s interview of September 7, 1995, from a 302 written by D’Angelo and Bassett for case file number 196D-CG-99593.

421
Again, while Frankel was investigated for financial wrongdoing, no evidence ever emerged that the company had paid him an under-the-table bonus. No charges were ever brought against him.

422
Joseph Caiazzo has said that he had no idea the money for the house mortgage was coming from Whitacre himself. His statement appeared in “Records Show Flows from Archer Executive’s Account,”
New York Times
, October 24, 1995. To the best of my knowledge, that article was the first time it was publicly disclosed that Whitacre had used the house mortgage as a method of bringing money from a foreign account back into the country, tax-free. Asked about the transaction, Caiazzo expressed surprise. “I’m as shocked as anybody,” he said in the article. “I had reason to believe that it was absolutely not his money.” Caiazzo was never charged with any wrongdoing.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

427–28
The timing of Richter’s message to Hulse and Allison, as well as the words he used, from a transcript of the voice mail.

428
Hulse’s decision to save Richter’s message from a 302 of his interview of September 12, 1995, as well as a September 15 memorandum of a subsequent discussion between Sean Berkowitz and D’Angelo.

428–35
Some details of Hulse’s interview with the FBI on September 12 from a 302 written by D’Angelo and Grant for case file number 196D-CG-99593.

431–32
Descriptions of the Nigerian swindle from copies of fraud letters, as well as a 1998 briefing paper by the International Organization of Black Security Executives and information posted on the Web site for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information from transcripts of a December 11, 1994, broadcast of
60 Minutes
and an August 17, 1994, broadcast on
Morning Edition
with National Public Radio.

433
Jerome Schneider’s background from Kate Berry, “Is It Still Smart to Keep Your Money Offshore?,’’
Investor’s Business Daily
, July 9, 1996, p. A1. Also, from a transcript of an April 11, 1997, broadcast on
20/20
, the television program.

435–36
The deal offered to Richter by ADM on September 13 was described in a letter two days later from Steve Urbanczyk of Williams & Connolly to Scott Roberts of ADM’s legal department.

436
The termination of Sid Hulse was described by Sean Berkowitz in his conversation with D’Angelo that night, which was recorded in the memorandum of September 15.

436–37
A partial transcript of Johnson’s speech at Emory was printed in “ADM and the FBI ‘Scumbags,’ “
Fortune
, October 30, 1995, p. 116.

437–38
Whitacre’s new job at Future Health Technologies was described by Bloomberg Business News, “ADM Whistleblower Whitacre Has New Job,’’
Springfield State Journal-Register
, October 10, 1995, p. 23.

438–39
Richter described his conversations with Whitacre in his sworn testimony of May 18, 1998, in
ADM v. Mark E. Whitacre et al.

439
Details of Epstein’s September 21 call to Bassett from a memorandum written by Bassett dated September 26, 1995.

440
Details of Page’s interview with Williams & Connolly from the 302 of his November 25, 1996, interview with D’Angelo and Grant for case file number 196D-CG-99593.

440–46
Details of Ron Ferrari’s first FBI interview from a 302 dated October 10, 1995, and written by D’Angelo and Bassett for case file number 196D-CG-99593.

446–47
Richter’s comments appeared in several reports, including Henkoff, “Checks, Lies and Videotapes,’’
Fortune
magazine, October 30, 1995, p. 109, and Bloomberg Business News, “Fired ADM Exec: Firm OK’d Secret Payments,’’
Decatur Herald & Review
, October 12, 1995, p. 1A.

447–48
Grant described his October 13 phone call with Mackay and Nixon in an electronic communication to Bureau headquarters, written on October 21, 1995.

448–49
Details of the
Tribune
article from Nancy Millman, “ADM Mole Discloses a Cache of $6 Million: Off-the-Books Scheme Endorsed by Bosses, Former Executive Says,’’
Chicago Tribune
, October 17, 1995, p. 1.

449
Details of Whitacre’s meeting with Miller on October 17 from the psychiatrist’s notes of that day’s session.