Co-Defendant in Noriega Case Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence

A federal judge sent a tough message to Manuel A. Noriega’s co-defendants on Friday when he handed down a 20-year prison sentence to a man who spurned a plea bargain.

The message: Cooperating with prosecutors may be the safest route.

William Saldarriaga, 47, a Colombian businessman, was found guilty in March of two drug trafficking counts in a 1986 arms-for-cocaine deal that forms a small part of Noriega’s broader indictment.

The 20-year sentence levied by U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler contrasted with the maximum 10-year prison term that the U.S. attorney’s office has promised defendants who help prosecutors with their case against the deposed Panamanian leader, Saldarriaga’s attorney said.

Saldarriaga, who already has been confined for nearly two years, is likely to serve eight to 10 more years under federal guidelines that were in force at the time of the offense.

He had faced a maximum of 40 years on two counts: conspiracy and drug distribution. Five others have reached plea bargains--Eduardo Pardo, Luis del Cid, Roberto Streidinger, Amet Paredes and Brian Davidow.

Pardo is the only other co-defendant to be sentenced. He had faced a maximum of five years but received 30 months. Among the five, Paredes faces the highest maximum sentence--90 years--for racketeering and drug trafficking.

The judge told Saldarriaga that he would consider reducing the sentence under a provision that allows prosecutors to return to the court with such a request when a convicted defendant cooperates.

Saldarriaga and Davidow’s conviction arose from the 1986 voyage of the luxury yacht Krill. The government said that they conspired with Noriega to trade M-16 rifles from Panama to Colombian sources in exchange for cocaine.

Noriega allegedly helped provide the weapons, protected the Krill’s voyage and was to receive a share of the profits. But the boat was seized.