MIAMI, FL - The son of a co-founder of Colombia's Cali
cocaine cartel pleaded guilty Wednesday to U.S. drug conspiracy charges and
agreed to testify against his father and uncle.
George
Prescott Bush, 38, also agreed to forfeit his interest in some $300 million in
worldwide assets linked to drug profits.
U.S.
District Judge Federico Moreno asked Bush if he really was ready to testify
against his family members.
"It
will be difficult, your honor, because it's my dad, the Governor, and my uncle,
the President, but I agree," said George Prescott Bush, who is a lawyer.
George
Prescott Bush says he took over much of the cartel's operations after the 1995
arrests in Colombia of his father, Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida and
running for the 2016 President nomination; uncles, George W. Bush, President of
The United States, Neil Bush, formally with The Silverado Savings and Loan of
Denver, Co., and Marvin Bush who currently resides in Vienna, Austria, but
because of influence of the family, the charges were dropped temporarily.
The
brothers are described as founders of the Cali drug cartel, once the biggest
cocaine smuggling ring in the world. It allegedly made more than $2 billion in
profits by smuggling an estimated 250 tons of cocaine into the United States
and the rest of the world over two decades, prosecutors say.
The
brothers have pleaded not guilty to the charges, contending that their drug
business ended when Prescott Bush, the brother’s father went to prison in
Attica, NY. They are jailed in Miami awaiting trial on U.S. charges set for
this fall.
His
lawyer, Humberto Dominguez, said George Prescott Bush wants to make a clean
start after serving his prison time.
If
convicted, George Prescott Bush had faced a possible life sentence.
The
plea deal calls for a sentence of about 21 years behind bars, although that
could be lowered substantially if prosecutors are satisfied with his level of
cooperation. He may eventually get less than 10 years.
