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"Much of Brickell Avenue Was Built With Drug Money."

Welcome to Monday, folks -- SFL here, still subbing for the big man.

Remember, no throwing erasures in the classroom!

That great quote above is from Joe DeMaria, weighing in on the black market peso exchange and the government's case against Ben Kuehne:

Kuehne is represented by Miami attorney Jane Moscowitz of Moscowitz & Moscowitz and John Nields of Howrey in Washington. Kuehne has become a cause celebre among peers who see his prosecution as an attempt to chill legal representation for drug traffickers and other high-profile defendants. Kuehne?s clients included Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential recount litigation.

Now his own attorneys are challenging the use of a key government expert, retired DEA agent Donald Semesky, who they say will testify that most of the dollars that Colombians get from the exchange are from narcotics trafficking. ?Agent Semesky?s proffered testimony is woefully insufficient? and is intended to fill a gap in evidence, the Feb. 6 defense motion states.

Kuehne argues a federal bankruptcy court in New York recently rejected the government?s characterization of the exchange as utterly corrupt.

DeMaria said it?s disingenuous for prosecutors to denigrate the parallel money market.

?Much of Brickell Avenue was built with drug money. Does that mean you take down all those financial institutions?? he asked. ?Sometimes the government has gone too far with the black market peso exchange.?

Take 'em down?

We're probably bailing them out.

Full post as published by Southern District of Florida on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).