Secret Papers Denied to Camarena Suspect

A federal district judge declined Monday to give secret papers filed by federal prosecutors to lawyers for a prominent Mexican businessman accused of plotting the murder of U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena.

Judge Edward Rafeedie also declined to remove himself from the case as defense lawyers requested if he would not give them the information they sought.

Rafeedie told Edward Medvene, attorney for Ruben Zuno Arce, that he was not entitled to material filed in confidence by prosecutors. Prosecutors have declined to divulge even the general subject matter of the papers. The judge cited several appellate court decisions permitting the government to make the secret filings.

He said “the defendant’s right to know is outweighed by the governmental interest” in keeping information confidential, either to protect witnesses or to maintain the integrity of an ongoing investigation into the Camarena murder.

Zuno is scheduled to go on trial April 10 on charges that he helped plan the February, 1985, kidnaping, torture and murder of Camarena in Guadalajara. On several occasions, Zuno has proclaimed he is “absolutely innocent” of the charges against him.

Monday’s hearing stemmed from a motion filed by Zuno’s lawyers in late January. The motion said there had been eight confidential filings submitted to Rafeedie and one to a federal appeals court in the case since last August.

Zuno’s lawyers alleged the Justice Department has been engaged in a “one-way dialogue” with the judge, and that the secret communication “raises questions as to the appearance of impartiality in the proceedings against” him. The motion also alleged that the secret documents deprive Zuno of due process.

Federal prosecutors Manuel Medrano and John L. Carlton responded in writing that federal laws and several previous cases permit the filing of the secret papers. They also argued that the secret filings have been necessary for the protection of witnesses and informants. And they contended there was no proof the judge had been unfair in his handling of the case.

After his motion was denied Monday, Medvene asked the judge to provide at least a summary of the allegations contained in the confidential filings. Rafeedie refused.

Rafeedie is considering a motion by the lawyer for Juan Jose Bernabe Ramirez, another defendant in the case, to turn over the name of a confidential informant in the case. Mary Kelly said she needs the identity of the informant to prepare her case. She contended the government has promised to relocate the informant and therefore it is no longer valid to argue that the informant would be endangered if his identity were revealed.

Medrano acknowledged the informant has been relocated, but he said revealing his identity could endanger the informant’s family. After the hearing, Gregory Nicolaysen, another defense lawyer in the case, said that if prosecutors were concerned for the families of these informants, they could have relocated them also, possibly to a U.S. military base.