McClung Claims Abuses in Mexico

As he left the resort island where he spent the last five weeks detained on gun charges, Scott McClung on Saturday recounted instances of emotional torture he says he suffered at the hands of federal officers working for a prosecutor.

McClung--who later boarded an airplane for Costa Rica, where he will pilot the yacht, the Rapture, back to Newport Beach--said the officers would often barge into the hospital room late at night and threaten him.

“I remember one instance when a guard who thought I was sleeping walked in, pointed a gun at my head and said, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ ” he said. “He just stayed there for several minutes. Then he left.”

Administrators at the hospital where McClung was staying became concerned about the officers’ behavior and convinced local police to prevent them from entering the facility when armed, he said. The police also required the federal officers to receive written permission before visiting McClung’s room, he added.

McClung, his 71-year-old father, Eugene, and the ship’s first mate, Noah Bailey of Dana Point, were arrested in Cozumel, a gemstone resort of 50,000, on Aug. 10 and charged with violating Mexico’s strict weapons laws when officials found two AR-15 semiautomatic rifles and three shotguns aboard the $4.5-million boat. Other crew members were not taken into custody.

McClung, 36, said the yacht was armed because U.S. Coast Guard officials in Florida, where the boat began its journey, had warned him to beware of Caribbean pirates who strike private vessels.

The Newport Beach-bound Rapture pulled into Cozumel with a mechanical problem and authorities arrested the three men when the guns were discovered, although the McClungs insist they declared the firearms when they entered port.

Bailey and Eugene McClung were released after nine days, but Scott McClung was ordered to stand trial. He collapsed at hearing the news and remained hospitalized, in custody, in a private clinic until his attorneys secured a judge’s order releasing him on Friday.

McClung’s father said Saturday that his son was feverish and feeling weak, possibly from an intestinal flu but was anxious to leave Cozumel.

McClung’s attorneys waged an intense legal battle in Mexico, maintaining their client’s innocence of charges sought by the Cozumel prosecutor.

The prosecutor, Claudio Sanchez, had argued that McClung made no declaration of weapons aboard the Rapture. But Sanchez was recalled by the Mexican attorney general to answer allegations that the prosecutor had sought a $10,000 bribe to win McClung’s release.

Just before boarding the plane on Saturday, McClung also accused Cozumel authorities of trying to shake down his family for money in exchange for his release.

“That first night when I was arrested,” he said, “about 90% of their questions had to do with how much the Rapture was worth, how much money we had on board, how much money my dad had and could raise, and how much was in our bank accounts.”

Officials from the prosecutor’s office in Cozumel declined comment Saturday on McClung’s allegations.

One of McClung’s attorneys, Alton Burkhalter, stressed that most Mexican officials treated them fairly, and that they had a problem only with the tactics of the prosecutor’s office.

On Friday, a federal judge ordered McClung released and wiped away all charges. William Bollard, McClung’s attorney, said “it’s as if charges were never filed.”

Dr. Ricardo Segovia, medical director of the clinic that treated McClung, said he was pleased with the release.

“I’m very satisfied,” Segovia said. “I think justice was served. We’ve managed to take care of Scott’s health needs, but we hope he can get past this point. We believe that he has the spiritual faith to survive this.”

Bollard said “many, many people,” in Mexico and the United States, offered McClung support, including a former Mexican ambassador to the United States, who was contacted by U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove).

Sanchez flew to Cozumel on Friday aboard a private jet, which she made available to the McClungs.

Although the family declined the congresswoman’s offer to use the jet, Sanchez did speak with Judge Alfredo Torres, and secured the return of McClung’s passport.

“The judge wanted to talk to me,” Sanchez said on Saturday before flying to Orange County. “He wanted to know what kind of power McClung had because people in Mexico had moved mountains to win Scott’s release.”

For McClung, the days ahead will be savored, he said. He plans to be reunited with the Rapture’s crew in Costa Rica and dive off its deck and swim in the ocean.