Prosecutors Seek Noriega Term Assessed ‘in Decades, Not Years’

Federal prosecutors have asked that toppled Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega be sent to jail for drug-related crimes for “a term measured not in years but in decades.”

In a pre-sentencing memorandum dated July 2 and filed with the court Monday, prosecutors did not specify how many years they wanted the 54-year-old Noriega to be imprisoned but said the term should be substantial.

U.S. District Judge William H. Hoeveler is to sentence Noriega on Friday. Convicted in April on eight of 10 drug and racketeering charges, he could face a 140-year sentence.

The government team’s 18-page memorandum said Noriega was guilty of a staggering conspiracy involving millions of dollars and huge amounts of cocaine destined for U.S. drug users.

“The scope of the conspiracy proved at trial is staggering. Indeed it is without parallel in modern jurisprudence,” the lawyers wrote, outlining Noriega’s service for Colombia’s ruthless Medellin cocaine cartel and his efforts to deceive U.S. drug enforcement agents in the region.

The prosecutors called Noriega the “most important crooked cop ever prosecuted.”