Jail’s a Hard Place to Get Into, Drug Ring Suspect Finds

One of the accused ringleaders in a $1-billion cocaine money laundering operation was mistakenly released from prison over his own repeated protests, authorities said Friday.

What’s more, Vahe Andonian was turned away by court officials the next day for more than three hours when he attempted to turn himself in, even as federal agents rushed to his La Crescenta house in an attempt to locate him, his attorney said.

Finally, more than 15 hours after his Monday night release, Andonian and his lawyer went to lunch, returned to the courthouse and ran into a federal marshal in an elevator.

“He said, ‘That wouldn’t be Vahe Andonian, would it?’ ” recalled the lawyer, Jeff A. Lesser.

“I said, ‘Yeah, it would be.’ He said, ‘Oh, that means I don’t have to hang out at your house anymore.’ ”

Details of Release

Lesser related details of the mistaken release in federal court Friday, arguing that Andonian--one of the key suspects in what authorities have called the largest money laundering operation ever uncovered--can be trusted to be released on bail.

The mix-up apparently occurred when one of the other suspects in the case, Vazken Anouchian, was mistakenly listed on the arrest complaint as Vazken Andonian, Lesser said. Thus, when Anouchian posted bail, the order came over for Andonian to be released, he said.

Both he and his brother, Nazareth Andonian, who together allegedly funneled $250 million in cocaine proceeds through two downtown jewelry district companies and a series of bank accounts throughout the United States and England, have been held without bail since their arrest Feb. 22 with 33 others as part of a massive federal investigation dubbed “Operation Polar Cap.”

U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real declined to order bail for either of the men Friday, citing the lack of any detailed financial documents to determine if they had enough money with which to flee if released on bail.

Told He Would Be Released

According to Lesser’s account--substantially confirmed by prison officials and federal prosecutors--a prison guard told Andonian on Monday night that he was to be released immediately.

Andonian protested, saying U.S. Magistrate John R. Kronenberg had refused to grant him bail earlier in the day, and protested again to two other prison guards, Lesser said. “They insisted that, no, he was being released, and he had to leave. So he left.”

Lesser said Andonian walked out of the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown about 9 p.m. and went immediately to a pay phone to call his lawyer.

“He told me he was out, and I said, ‘I don’t believe it,’ and I think someone said it was a miracle,” the lawyer recalled. Lesser said since his client had been unable to explain the situation to the guards, he decided to wait until the next day to try to turn Andonian in. The suspect did not go home for the night, but Lesser would not say where he did go.

When they got to Magistrate Kronenberg’s court on Tuesday, he said, the magistrate’s clerk referred them to U.S. Magistrate Vanetta S. Tassopulos, who was the duty magistrate that day. But when they arrived at her courtroom, it was dark.

Lesser said he rang the buzzer on the magistrate’s chambers, and was told by a secretary that he should find the magistrate’s clerk. The clerk, once he found her, directed them downstairs to the federal marshals.

By then, he said, it was lunchtime, and the two walked across the street to have lunch, then returned to find the federal marshal in the elevator. “For 3 1/2 hours, I couldn’t give him to anybody,” Lesser said. “Then I find out they had sent out the DEA, SWAT, everybody to the house.”

Margaret Hambrick, warden at the detention center, confirmed that Andonian had, in fact, raised “concerns” about his impending release.

“In response to the concerns raised, the (release) order was verified as correct,” she said. “The bottom line for us is we released him in response to a proper and verified court order.”

Prosecutors said they do not know details of how the mistaken release occurred.

“We don’t know to what extent the officials were actively misled as to his true identity,” said Mary McMenimen, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office. “We are pleased he is back in custody, because we view him as a flight risk and a danger to the community.”