Randall Fluke, the Assistant United States Attorney, introduced the new United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Joseph David “Joe” Brown to Rotary.  Joe has a strong legacy of attorneys and judges in his family and is following their lead.   His interest in crime began when he was very young, and he has a passion for his job.  He is married with two daughters who attend high school.  He began his new position February 26th of this year and was nominated by President Donald Trump.  He is in charge of the chief federal law enforcement office for the Eastern District, which covers 43 counties and a population of more than 3.5 million citizens.  He oversees six regional offices and has 57 attorneys and 69 support staff who report to him.  The Eastern District includes offices in Beaumont, Tyler, Sherman, Plano, Texarkana, and Lufkin.  He thanked Chief Singletary for providing him that warm welcome to Beaumont.

 

The types of cases his offices prosecute principally include:

 

One of his first cases after his appointment was a bombing case in our area.   

 

Joe is a self-confessed crime fanatic.  He is fascinated by CSI, Dateline, Forensic Files and, above all, the crime series “Narco,” about the exploits of the Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.  This is especially important because the United States has a strong relationship with Colombian law enforcement.  It seems that Joe was destined for this position.  He traveled to Colombia to see where Escobar lived and visited Escobar’s memorial to one of his pilots who died in a plane crash – the actual plane that now sits at the entrance to his compound.  What a thrill!

 

Joe believes that Escobar was the worst killer to have ever lived.  He murdered thousands and is the one who started bringing cocaine to the United States.  Colombia grows and supplies more than 90% of the cocaine in the world.  Escobar ruled by fear and bribery.  The biggest fear in Colombia is extradition to the United States.  Escobar was so concerned about extradition that he bombed the plane with a Colombian Presidential candidate onboard because he supported an alliance with the United States.  Escobar was responsible for the murder of 13 judges and the burning of all files that pertained to his offenses.  He was ultimately convicted and incarcerated.  Escobar was so prepared for this eventuality, however, that he built the very prison where he was housed.  Escobar, of course, escaped through of the prison’s many hidden passages.  After Escobar was killed in 1993, the Cali Cartel took over, and its leaders are currently in prison.  This resulted in the fragmentation of the country’s drug lords and their territories.  They are now more specialized in the supply chain and have no central leader like Escobar.  The use of GPS technology makes it a easier to track the shipments because each package of cocaine has a GPS chip.  Interdiction is an important tool for law enforcement and is made easier by having these chips.  The United States has spent more than $11 billion since 1999 on training and supporting police in Colombia, alternative crop development (which has had little success), interdiction, extradition, and illicit crop eradication.  The Peace Agreement between Colombia and the United States is not as strong as it once was.  Nonetheless, an average of 100 Colombian drug cartel members is sent to United States federal prisons each year.  The efforts are daunting given that there are at least 31 trips per day of cocaine shipments out of Colombia by fast boats, submersibles, and planes.  Even a ship from China was recently found throwing bales of product off the ship after leaving Colombia.

 

As you can see, Joe has the important task of prosecuting offenders and protecting our district from many threats.  We are fortunate to have him represent us as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.