Chapter 34

And it was about three weeks later that things literally fell to shit. I got home from class, and saw a business card was shoved in the doorframe. I looked at it and saw it was from the Customs Department.

I threw it on the table when I went in, and had just finished in the bathroom when there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and saw two guys outside. They were both in suits, and sighed in my head as I looked at them.

“Are you Mister George Culver?” one of them asked, and I said I was. Both of them then presented badges identifying them as Special Agents of the US Customs and Border Patrol. The taller one identified himself as Agent Garcia, and the other was Agent Harris and they asked if they could come in.

I looked at them, and asked them what it was about. “Mister Culver, we really should discuss that inside.”

I asked if they had a warrant, and Agent Garcia just smiled. “You do not quite understand, we are not here to investigate you at this time. Nor are we going to search your residence. But we do need to ask you some questions, so we can either do that here or down at the Federal Building.”

I thought for a moment, and decided to let them in. And although they did look around as they came in, the three of us sat at the dining table and both of them pulled out notebooks. “OK, now this is an informal questioning, and you are not at this time under arrest or the actual subject of our investigation.” He then read me my Miranda rights, which did shake me a bit. Then after affirming I knew and understood them it began.

The first thing he asked me was how I knew Pavel Goldberg, and I admitted he was my landlord as well as my boss. Then after several questions where I told him Pavel was a friend of my brother and a family friend suggested I talk to him I was renting where I was now.

“OK, so you rented this before you started working for him?”

“Oh yes, several months before. He runs and import-export business, and when he found out I had my pilot’s license he got a plane and had me fly it and haul some cargo for him.

Agent Harris pulled out a folder from his briefcase and opened it. And right away I knew those were the forms from my trips to Mexico. “Yes, you made quite a few trips to Ensenada for several months. What was that about?”

“Well, you seem to have the forms right there. I would bring down mostly videotapes and newspapers, and bring back cases of alcohol. I flew most of those runs, and stopped every single time in San Diego to clear customs and pay any import duties.” Agent Harris tried to ask me about a specific flight, and I excused myself for a moment and went into my office.

I came back with my flight case, then opened my logbook and confirmed the date and how much cargo was in the back in both cubic feet and weight. Agent Garcia asked me for my flight log, and I shook my head.

“Sorry, that I will not do as this is my personal log and involves a lot of flights that were in no way connected to Mister Goldberg. However, if you wish I can bring it down to your office and you can make a certified true copy of it. But outside of a subpoena, this is not leaving my custody.”

They looked at each other and nodded, then started to ask me about the change in my schedule. I explained that I did still to go Mexico once every two or three months, but most of my flights were now up to Napa. And when he asked what the cargo was I simply said it was cigarettes.

“Cigarettes, and did you have any customs forms for them?”

“Customs forms, for a flight originating and ending in California? No, why would I?”

They asked several other questions, then surprised me when they asked about Brittney Seever. I admitted I knew her from my fight school, and I had suggested her to Pavel as a second pilot so I could return to my studies.

“For a while there I was flying three days a week, and it was killing my education. So now I only fly once a week unless something comes up.” After another twenty minutes they put the folder and notebook away, then asked to look through my flight log. Agent Harris counted all the pages that had been filled out, and used a camera to take pictures of a couple of them. And as he did that I asked Agent Garcia what was going on.

“Well, you will likely know soon so I might as well tell you. This afternoon after arriving in Napa, Miss Seever was arrested and the plane impounded. And the two men on the ground were arrested and their truck impounded. And from her initial interview it seems she knows about as much as you do. She was flying cigarettes for Pavel Goldberg.”

“Wait, she was arrested?” I exclaimed, feeling a tightening in my gut at those words.

“Yes, but we will likely be releasing her tomorrow. To be honest, we believe you both are just patsies in this smuggling operation.”

At that I got a real cramp in my gut. “Smuggling? Oh shit, what were we really moving? Drugs?” I asked, now getting a bit scared.

“Cigarettes.”

“Wait, cigarettes? As in regular cigarettes? What’s the big deal about that? I can go to the corner and buy a pack any time I want.”

“Yes, but those are legally imported and had the taxes and import tariffs paid. Do you know the name of most of those you flew?”

“Sure, they were Ararat brand. Pavel told me they were from Armenia. I have tried them a time or two, they were a bit harsh I thought.”

Agent Harris handed my log back to me and nodded. “Yep, and are the main brand smuggled in by the Russian Mafia. Please bring your log book in tomorrow morning so we can get a copy, with nothing missing or altered. Oh, and you might want to get a lawyer. I do believe that you did not know, but you were flying contraband cigarettes and that is a federal offense.”

They stood up and I walked them downstairs, and barely made it back up and into the bathroom when my lunch all came up in a rush.

Holy fuck! I thought a moment, then called my dad. I gave him a brief outline of what I had learned, and asked about a lawyer. He sighed, then told me that Pete would call me back.

“The guy your brother uses down there is a good one, but I only met him once. But your brother knows how to get ahold of him.” I called Pete, and had to run through all of it with him also. He then sighed, and sounded sad.

“OK, then the guy you want to talk to is Nick Redding. One of his specialties is criminal defense, and it sounds like he might be the one you need.” He gave me his number, then told me to have it billed to him.

“Pete, I can’t do that! This is my problem, not yours. It’s my responsibility.”

“George, you’re my brother. This may be no big deal, or it might be a huge deal. Either way, I don’t want you to worry about the money at this time. So relax, and tell him to send the bills to me.”

I thanked him, and after talking for about a half hour I was driving downtown with my flight log. We talked for about an hour, and during that time he had his secretary make copies of my flight log. And he told me what he had been able to learn so far.

“Well, your boss was arrested this afternoon in his office. Miss Seever was indeed arrested this afternoon at the airport when she arrived, but is expected to be released with no charges filed tomorrow. And I do not expect you to be arrested, but it is possible.”

“Because I was flying contraband cigarettes” I said, and he nodded.

“Exactly. Apparently this was a joint operation by ICE, the BATF, and at least two other Federal agencies. But it appears the only people of interest was Mister Goldberg, and people working above and below him. And you actually have a pretty good case on your side. Oh, you were unquestionably breaking the law. But that is at most a five year sentence, and both you and Miss Seever appear to have no knowledge that what you were transporting was illegal.”

“I had no idea!” I exclaimed. “I mean, they were just cigarettes. And other than once or twice I never left the state with them.”

“Exactly. And even though I would most times suggest refusing to talk to anybody without a lawyer present, that was probably the best thing that you did in this case. You held nothing back, seemed chocked, and were candid in that you did not know it was illegal. And even if this went to trial, you would likely get off on jury sympathy. What you did was illegal, but they would almost have to prove to the jury that you were aware it was illegal. And if I was your defense, I would tell them to ask themselves if they were ever to be asked if they were driving to the Wine Country to bring up a case of cigarettes if they would refuse. Or even aware if they did if they were doing anything illegal.”

He shook his head at that and grinned. “And I bet most would agree, and would think nothing of it. Plus your first flights were all to and from Mexico, with full inspections and paperwork cleared by ICE. So after doing that for months, why would you think anything wrong about a legal product being sent to the other side of the state? If it was drugs or something like that I would be worried, but for this I bet at most you will get a stern warning and nothing beyond that.”

“And what about Pavel?” I asked, and Mister Redding shook his head.

“Oh, just to guess? They are going after him with the RICO act. It sure sounds like he’s connected to the Russian Mafia, and that may get ugly.”

I gulped, and asked if I was in any danger. “Naw, you were just an unwitting mule. So long as everything you told me is true, you have nothing to worry about from them. After all, what do you know other than you flew to Mexico and Northern California? Flying booze and cigarettes. And the booze always passed through customs and was cleared. But to use a legal term, he is in some deep shit.”

I thanked him, and was almost to the Valley when I got a call from Linda. I quickly headed to her house, and when she let me in it was obvious she had been crying. I held her for several minutes, and asked if she was alright. She assured me she was, and I looked around for Sherry.

“Oh, she’s not here. I had her Aunt Sherri come to get her, she will be staying with them for a night or two.”

And she confirmed to me she also had visitors that day, but from the BATF. I held up my hand and she stopped talking, and I thought real fast. Planting a bug would need a warrant but it was possible. I told her I had not eaten yet, and she got the idea and suggested we go out to eat. We got into my car, and I drove us to a Mexican place she suggested that had patio seating.

She then told me what she knew, and at first she was terrified it was about the guns we had found. “Honestly Linda, I doubt they even know about that. They never said a word about that to me, they only seemed to care about the cigarettes.”

She had pulled out a pack from her purse and lit it, and I picked it up from the table. I pulled the pack from my pocket and turned them both over. Sure enough, I knew what was wrong now that I knew what to look for. There was a small blue stamp for California taxes on the bottom of the pack I had, her pack did not have one.

“Now I see what the problem is. Linda, did you know this?”

She looked down for a moment and sighed, and nodded. “Yes, I did. But not that it was such a big deal. You know Pavel does a lot of things, I thought that was just a small side hustle.”

“Oh, it can be. But it sounds like he was one of the bosses. You knew this?”

“Well, kinda? I knew he did some shady things, but you’ve seen the office cluster. You rent one of his houses, most of his money is legitimate. Hell, he even owns part of Rocco’s company, that is legitimate also even if it is porn. And George, you may not know this but a lot of the foreigners that run businesses in this country have connections like that. If you go to Garden Grove, you will likely not meet a businessman that is not involved in one degree or another with the Vietnamese gangs. Or in Chinatown where it is the Tong. Japantown has the Yakuza. But honest, I had no idea it was anything more than that. Just selling some untaxed cigarettes on the side. Heck, go into almost any liquor store and ask for this brand, and they’ll have them under the counter. Especially if the store is owned by Russians, Armenians, or Ukrainians.”

I looked into her eyes, and she not only looked sad but hurt. But she also seemed to be telling the truth. And I decided that I had to believe her. I asked her what that would mean for us, and she sighed.

“Well, for me not much other than I’ll likely lose my job there. Most of the businesses are in his wife’s name, and I bet she will can me as soon as she can.”

“Wait, why would she do that?” I asked, incredulous.

“Why? Because of Sherry, naturally. George, we’ve been discreet. But I have no doubt she knows I have a kid with Pavel. No, I bet next week she’ll fire me. And that will mean I have to get another job so I can have insurance for us. Either that or something else. I actually make decent money at writing and other things, but that is freelance so no insurance. But that is all she can do, the house is actually in Sherry’s name. I’m her legal guardian of course and have full power of attorney, but even if I sold it the money would have to be put in trust for her.”

I told her that was a blessing and she nodded. “That was one of the few properties that Pavel outright owned himself. He owns a few, I rented one for a couple of years when I first became his mistress. In fact, I suspect most of those he owned he put his mistresses in. I know I’m not his only one, but since Sherry I think he has had most of the rest move on. But when I got pregnant he moved me over here and signed the house over to Sherry after she was born. I don’t think his wife had any idea that he even owned it. She probably thinks that Pavel was renting it for me, and I will have to move out soon as he will not pay for this anymore.”

She asked me my plans, and I sighed. “Well, no more flying for me it seems unless I borrow one of Pete’s planes or rent one. The agents told me the plane was impounded, which means that sometime in the future it will likely be auctioned off. I’ll probably just concentrate on school now. Oh, and getting some more certifications as I have almost enough hours to get my commercial license.”

“So, still looking to be a flying lawyer?” she asked with a smile, and I nodded.

“And to be honest, this is another thing to look into. I honestly had no idea what I was doing might have been illegal. Linda, was I being stupid?”

“George, don’t be too hard on yourself. If he’d given me the keys to a truck, showed me in the back was cigarettes and asked me to drive it to Bakersfield I would have thought nothing of it either. Pavel, he cheats on his wife and I am pretty sure he was cheating on both of us with other gals. He also told me he cheats on his taxes, he cheats in other ways also. In your case, you just did not know any better. Hell, you could even almost say he cheated me in a way.”

I raised my eyebrow at that, and she actually smiled. “Pavel told me early on in our relationship he had been snipped. We still used rubbers, you know why. But when I got pregnant, I knew that was a lie because he was the only man I’d slept with for over two years. I have no idea why he had told me that, but when I told him the news he admitted he had lied to me about that. His wife was the one that had her tubes tied after their second kid, not him getting snipped.”

She shook her head and laughed, and I shook mine as well. When dinner was finished I drove us home, and I think we were both feeling better when after giving me a hug she got out of my car and went inside.

The next day I drove to the Federal Building on Wilshire, and an hour later left again. They had me sign a rough transcript of my statement in addition to making a copy of my logbook. And I grabbed the newspaper on the way home where there was a page four article about Pavel being arrested.

That night I got a call, and it was Brittney. And she told me what we suspected, that she was questioned for hours and held overnight. But she was released with no charges being filed against her and flew back commercial this afternoon. We met up at school and walked the campus in the darkness and talked. And she was actually pissed. Thankfully not at me, but at Pavel for using us in this way.

“George, they seem to think just like you said. We were too young to know any better, and had no idea what we were doing could be illegal. But I tell you, this is the end of it for me. I’ll still fly, but only for myself from now on. No more flying for somebody else, it’s just too dangerous.”

I agreed, although I said I would still get my commercial license. She looked at me sharply, then nodded. “That’s right, your brother has a flying service. Yes, that should be safe because it’s legitimate and you’re his brother. At least I made some good money while it lasted.”

And when she asked me if we got called to trial, I sighed. “Honestly? If it was to testify against Pavel I will simply say what I know. My lawyer does not think either of us will face anything, we are simply too small a fish to mess with. Oh, what we did was illegal. But they would pretty much have to convince a jury that we were aware that moving a legal product inside the state could in any way be illegal. And there is enough doubt of a conviction then that it is just not worth it to them.”

“God, I hope so! I’ve never even had a parking ticket, and I was only held overnight for questioning with no actual charges filed against me. But between you and me, I hope Pavel hangs. This could have fucked me up for life!”

We each headed home a bit later, and I called my parents. I gave them a rundown of what all had happened, and they both said they hoped that was the end of it for me. And mom was glad this meant I could return to a full class load next semester as I would no longer be flying.

But there were still more changes coming. I was following the case in the news, and Pavel was being charged along with a dozen others with federal racketeering charges. And a little over a month later when there was a knock on the door, I answered it to another man with a suit. But he simply handed me some papers and left.

I went inside, and it was an eviction notice. As my rent was month to month, the landlord was exercising her right to have me vacate in 90 days so they could prepare the property for sale. Not really eviction, but termination of the rental agreement. And I saw that the guy serving me the papers drove across to the main house and taped a notice on their door.

I was still pondering what to do a few hours later when there was yet another knock on the door. This time it was Dani, and she told me they were getting kicked out. I went over to her place and I told Peggy and Mary the same thing was happening to me.

“George, can they do this?” Mary asked, and I nodded.

“Well, unless you have an actual year to year lease, yes. I already read through the papers, it states the reason for the termination of the lease is so they can prepare the house for sale. That is a legal reason to terminate a month to month rental with three month notice. We could fight that, but if she sells then any contract is void and we would have to move anyways unless we can reach an agreement with the new owner. I don’t think this is anything personal, Mister Goldberg’s wife is just disposing of assets they might need for his defense.”

They all agreed, and they said they were going to look for somewhere else to live. Dani and Mary were probably going to get their own place, Peggy said she would likely just move in with her boyfriend.

As for me, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I did not qualify for a dorm anymore, and I was not looking forward to trying to find an apartment again.

The next night I was watching TV when a commercial for motor homes came on. And remembering what my family had been doing with the campgrounds I had an inspiration. And on Saturday I started driving to RV lots.

The first place checked out my Aztek, and they told me my towing capacity was just under two tons. But they showed me about a dozen trailers that fit that requirement, both new and used. And with the money Linda had given me and what I had saved, I could afford to get a nice used unit. Or a tiny new one. The only other option was to get a motor home and tow the Aztek, but I in no way had enough to get one of those that was not a complete wreck.