Alleged 'drug kingpin' eluded the law for decades, feds say. Then he needed a passport
The alleged leader in a nationwide conspiracy to smuggle narcotics on a railroad line had eluded authorities for decades.
Howard Farley Jr. was considered to be the "drug kingpin" of the Southern Line, but he escaped arrest while 73 others faced indictments by a Nebraska federal grand jury in 1985, officials say.
Known as "Big H," Harley organized a drug ring to ship cocaine north from Florida, the Lincoln Journal reported at the time. Investigators turned their attention to Harley during a probe of a Peru man and two University of Nebraska students convicted of dealing cocaine, the newspaper reported.
But even as law enforcement nabbed other suspects in the operation, Harley went undetected — until now.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested Farley as he was boarding a private plane at his home in Weirsdale, Florida, a town of 3,000 about 60 miles northwest of Orlando.
They were tipped off to his location after Farley tried to renew his passport in February. A passport agency discovered the name and Social Security number Farley listed in an application belonged to a 3-month-old baby who died in 1955, according to a criminal complaint.
Farley obtained a passport using the identity in 1987 and renewed it two times without a problem, according to the complaint. He also obtained a driver's license and pilot's license using the identity, authorities say.
Now Farley is charged with passport fraud.
However, Farley won't face charges in the drug case because the indictment was dropped, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska told NBC News.
_The Kansas City Star
