The fall of onetime high powered attorney, Todd Macaluso: Private planes, Tijuana to Haiti, and hundreds of kilos of cocaine

The fall of onetime high powered attorney, Todd Macaluso: Private planes, Tijuana to Haiti and hundreds of kilos of cocaine

Todd Macaluso, 55, was the cliche of a wealthy lawyer, in many of the ways one would imagine.  His vast Rancho Santa Fe mansion, (ranking affluent neighborhood in Southern California) his private planes, his pilot's license, his younger, blonde instagram pic ready wife, Tonya.  The kind of person whose image summed up a Hollywood version of an out of control, morally bankrupt attorney.

His downfall was also the kind of screenplay that Netflix could spend at least 5 episodes covering. It is a classic Southern California comedy of errors and federal prison, with international locales, and drug traffickers, sun drenched resorts, private planes, high profile attorney's, millions of dollars worth of cocaine.

We will start from the beginning, or where I feel the relevant points are.  In 2008 Macaluso was part of a legal "dream team", to represent Casey Anthony, the young Florida mother accused, and acquitted, of killing her child.  She was largely presumed to be guilty, and the evidence overwhelmingly points to her guilt.  Nevertheless, she was acquitted, in part due to Macaluso and others, including Alan Dershowitz, infamous attorney, tied closely to Jefferey Epstein, the hedge fund fixer, who plead guilty to charges of soliciting minors for sex, in a pedophile ring he ran out of his Palm Beach mansion in the mid 2000's. 

He was just another Rancho Santa Fe guy, earning millions, assumedly to represent clients in cases ranging from Casey Anthony, to former San Diego Charger Shawn Merriman, when he allegedly choked one time reality TV star, Tila Tequila, in his mansion in Poway.  But, he made his name and most of his fortune from personal injury cases, including one linked to San Diego Case and Electric in Carlsbad.

At some point,  before 2015, according to his guilty plea, began a scheme to defraud clients.  Perhaps the lifestyle was too lavish, the spending too reckless, whatever the problems that plague these types, he had them, because he began to defraud clients, including friends, in a scheme that eventually landed him in federal indictment territory, the first of two.  His scheme involved forging the signatures of clients on documents, to use their contracts as collateral, against loans he took from investors to fund his business.

In March 2015 he plead guilty to this offense, and was sentenced in November of that year to five months in prison. He was also disbarred, meaning he had to seek gainful employment when he was released in early 2016.  That wasn't a problem, because he entered into the aviation business, with his lawyer in the case, John Kirby.  The perfect fusion of his interests and passions, with his need for an income, to show his federal probation officer, among other things.  

John Kirby is a well known San Diego attorney, he represents white collar offenders, among others, and is well known on the federal trial circuit.  Kirby is also a former AUSA, as many are, who handled many cases against the Arellano-Felix Organization, in their heyday in Tijuana.  He co wrote indictments against many of the arrested, extradited and sentenced members. Then, around 2005, he went into private practice, as is very common.

So, Macaluso forms an aviation business, to fly wealthy clients into Mexico, for 1,000 a trip.  The destination is in Ensenada, El Barril, near a landing strip and resort, that he apparently owned stake in. He was on supervised release, beginning in June 2016, and in frequent contact with his federal probation officer, who had to approve all his trips out of the country.  Macaluso claimed he made 5,000 approx per month with his business.

He had declared at bankruptcy proceedings that he had liabilities of 10-50 million, and assets of only 100,000 to 500,000. The liabilties were dismissed, but he still owed 1.2 million, that could not be waived, as it involved victim restitution and fines he owed to the US government.  He discussed this business and his income with his probation officer during the summer of 2016. Things were going well.  He frequently asked and was granted permission to leave San Diego to Mexico for business.

In early November 2016, as Tijuana's murder rate climbed to 700, which pales the current years, 1450 plus, and CJNG and Sinaloa retail outlets bloodied the streets, Macaluso attended a business meeting.  At that meeting was Humberto Osuna Contreras, (Mateo) and Carlos Almonte Vasquez, and at least one other individual, who would was a DEA cooperating witness  They were introduced by an employee of John Kirby's, Macaluso's partner in the aviation business.

At this meeting, they discussed the transport of a 1500-1800 cargo of cocaine, to be picked up in Ecuador, brought into Honduras, and crossed into Mexico, and assumedly into San Diego, through the Tijuana border. They also discussed his price, which was 30,000 in Haiti, and another 185,000 at a later point. Macaluso is recorded saying his plane, a Gulfstream II could hold 1500 kilos. The group had apparently been meeting since June 2016, and court documents allege Contreras and Vasquez were drug traffickers. 

All of the meetings were recorded, and videotaped.  On November 10th, Macaluso asked his probation officer for permission to travel to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republican.  There was some confusion by the members of the conspiracy where Port Au Prince was, whether the DR, or in Haiti. His request was not answered, yet he went anyway. 

Macaluso went from Tijuana to Orlando, to Haiti, where the men met again.  These conversations were again recorded and videotaped, the men were subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities, at the request of the DEA agents in Haiti.  The conspirators were then extradited to Brooklyn, New York, were they remained, until Contreras and Vasquez plead guilty, and Macaluso was convicted at trial last week. 

Macaluso claims among other things, that his cell phone held the key to his innocence, backing his claims that he planned to pilot a plane to Ecuador from Haiti to show real estate investment properties to clients.  The phone was apparently lost by Haitian authorities, and the DEA was never in possession of it.  These claims were not admitted into court.

I am curious how it unfolded, whether the cooperating witness was someone Macaluso allowed into his life, someone he met in prison, or whether he was already in the circles of Contreras and Vasquez, and the unknown employee who introduced them.  They all most certainly know the man who sat with them, recording, remembering repeating in affidavits and statements.

And, until his sentencing, where he will likely receive at least an 8 year sentence,(though the minimum is 10) this is where it ends. His court appointed attorney, in a ironic twist, to his days as a legal "superstar" on the dream team, claims he is disappointed in the verdict, but will be vindicated.  We will see.

Perhaps the high powered title isn't accurate, just a man, who had some lucky breaks, and a head start, and believed himself to be everything he was perceived as, betrayed in the end, by yes, a witness, but also his own arrogance.

Sources: San Diego Union Tribune: "Disbarred Rancho Santa Fe Attorney convicted in scheme to fly cocaine load" by Kristina Davis