The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream (57 page)

147.
In the summer of 1992:
Report of an interview with Ronald Chao, aka China Man.

148.
“Dan Xin wanted”:
Remark by
Prosecutor William J. Murray during Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

148
After the incident in Washington:
Testimony of Tu Wei Chung in State of New Jersey v. Dan Xin Lin, et al., Bergen County (1995) (hereafter, Tu Wei Chung testimony, the Teaneck trial).

148
Before long, Dan Xin:
Confidential source.

148
“What are my shortcomings?”:
Ibid.

148
He accused Dan Xin:
Ibid.

148
Ah Kay thought the move:
Ibid.

148
He warned Dan Xin:
Ibid.

148
Ah Kay didn’t make:
Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.

149
But on January 8, 1993:
Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et. al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.

149.
“Do it”:
The account of this ex change and the shooting at the beeper store is drawn from an interview with Luke Rettler, in which he referred to affidavits filed by the investigating officers, crime scene specialists, and Dan Xin Lin himself, May 30, 2008. (The detail of the singeing of Dan Xin’s hair comes from Dan Xin’s own account of the incident, delivered to authorities after he escaped unharmed.) Also see Seth Faison, “How a Betrayal Snagged a Chinese Gang Leader,”
New York Times
, August 31, 1993.

150.
The police had heard:
Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.

150
Ah Kay was unhappy:
Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, December 15, 2005.

150
He fell into a depression:
Confidential source.

150
Because he knew:
Ibid.

150
Ah Kay hid:
Interview with Luke Rettler, May 30, 2008.

150
Then one day he left:
Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.

151
When Ah Kay left:
Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

151
Ah Wong, as he was known:
Ibid.; FBI confidential informant report, September 23, 1993, File # 281E-NY-196708.

151
Ah Kay instructed:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 17, 1995.

151
When Luke Rettler:
Interview with Luke Rettler, July 26, 2007.

151
Tam found criminal lawyers:
FBI confidential informant report, September 23, 1993, File # 281E-NY-196708.

151
When Ah Kay had:
Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

152
He also signed leases:
Transcript of an interview with Erica Lugo, sales associate at Century 21 Realty, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, October 14, 1993.

152
Alan Tam always specified:
Ibid.

152
They moved so frequently:
Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

152
The bathroom at a safe house:
Crime scene investigation report, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 12, 1993.

152
They cooked:
Ibid.

153
“We watch kung fu movies”:
Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

153
They played Nintendo:
Property and evidence receipt, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, June 14, 1993.

153
At one of the houses:
Jim Consoli, “Shooters Hunted in Gang Killings,”
Bergen County Record
, June 23, 1993.

153
People assumed:
Witness interview with [name withheld], Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, August 24, 1993.

153
Then one day Dan Xin Lin:
Interview with Ray Kerr, May 22, 2007.

153
Dan Xin sat:
Interview with Tom Trautman, May 3, 2007.

153
But Dan Xin said:
Interview with
Luke Rettler, in which he referred to affidavits filed by the investigating officers, crime scene specialists, and Dan Xin Lin, May 30, 2008.

154
The FBI coordinated:
Interview with Luke Rettler, July 26, 2007.

154
He had grown obsessed:
Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, December 15, 2005.

154.
He instructed some of his allies:
FBI confidential informant report, September 14, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

154-55
That March and April:
Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.

155.
He pulled out:
FBI confidential in formant report, September 23, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

155
Dan Xin offered:
FBI confidential informant report, September 14, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

155
They visited a gun dealer:
FBI confidential informant report, December 9, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

155
They bought five handguns:
Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.

155
But they had neglected:
FBI and confidential informant report, September 14, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

155
As the plotters:
FBI confidential informant report, November 12, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

155
Tam said he didn’t:
Thomas Zambito, “Gang Insider Turns Accuser,”
Bergen County Record
, November 2, 1995.

156
Tam had always:
Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, December 15, 2005.

156
On the evening of May 23, 1993:
Interview with Ray Kerr, May 22, 2007.

156
The next afternoon:
FBI confidential informant report, September 23, 1993, File #281E-NY-196708.

156
Inside, a man:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 17, 1995, and September 20, 1993.

156.
The house was very comfortable:
Thomas Zambito, “Gang Slaying At tempt Detailed,”
Bergen County Record
, November 16, 1995.

157.
The doorbell rang:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 17, 1995.

157
Dan Xin looked angry:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, September 20, 1993.

157
They took him:
interview/statement of Dan Xin Lin, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, May 26, 1993.

157
The basement floor was cold:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 17, 1993.

157
One of Dan Xin’s underlings:
Charles Young, “Four Deny Role in Teaneck Shooting,”
Bergen County Record
, July 7, 1993.

157
He found a blanket:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, July 17, 1995.

157
After establishing:
Interview/statement of Dan Xin Lin, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, May 26, 1993.

157
Ah Wong had spent:
Thomas Zambito, “Survivor of Teaneck Ambush Tells of Escape,”
Bergen County Record
, October 19, 1995.

157
As afternoon gave way:
Details in this paragraph are drawn from the interview report of Ah Mee Liu (aka “Ming Chen”), Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, February 3, 1994; Zambito, “Survivor of Teaneck Ambush Tells of Escape;” Debra Lynn Vial, “‘These Men Are Real Sweethearts’—Death Scene Painted in Gang Trial Summations,”
Bergen County Record
, December 8, 1995; Thomas Zambito, “Six Gang Members Convicted of Murder,”
Bergen County Record
, December 16, 1995.

158
Dan Xin may have:
Interview with Luke Rettler, May 30, 2008.

158
On the front porch:
Details from this paragraph are drawn from interview of defendant, Chao Lin Feng, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, May 31, 1993; interview report of Ah Mee Liu (aka “Ming Cheng”), Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 3, 1994. Zambito, “Survivor of Teaneck Ambush Tells of Escape;” Robert Hanley, “Teaneck Killings Laid to Chinese Gangs Power Struggle,”
New York Times
, May 26, 1993.

158
Chang heard the shot:
Zambito, “Gang Slaying Attempt Detailed.”

158
But he hardly registered:
Interview report of Lin, Chang Liang, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, July 17, 1995.

158
Akiva Fleischmann:
Interview with Akiva Fleischmann, April 19, 2007.

159
Another neighbor:
Witness interview with [name withheld], Bergen County Prosecutors Office, August 25, 1993.

159
Three local kids:
Witness interview with [name withheld], Bergen County Prosecutors Office, August 26, 1993.

159
When the officers arrived:
Crime scene investigation report, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, July 12, 1993.

159
Akiva Fleischmann still didn’t know:
Interview with Akiva Fleischmann, April 19, 2007.

159.
Ah Wong was still alive:
Interview report of Callis Brown, Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, June 3, 1993.

160.
“Naked oriental male”:
Autopsy Report—ME #0895, Victim Guo Liang Wang, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, May 27, 1993.

160
A tenth bullet:
Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et. al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.

160
Four-Eye was eventually apprehended:
Michael Fechter, “Dishwasher Charged in Gang Killings,”
Tampa Tribune
, May 4, 1995.

160
Shing Chung has never:
Interview with William J. Murray and Tom Goldrick, the lead prosecutor and investigator on the Teaneck case, April 19, 2007.

160
“Get out of here!”:
Interview of defendant, Chao Lin Feng, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, May 31, 1993.

161
In nearby Fort Lee:
Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.

161
Ray Kerr was asleep:
Interview with Ray Kerr, May 22, 2007.

161
The killers were held:
Charles Young, “Police Fear Escalation of Gang War,”
Bergen County Record
, May 29, 1993.

161
When a judge set:
Elliot Pinsley and Jim Consoli, “Act of Revenge,”
Bergen County Record
, May 26, 1993.

161.
Chang, the Fujianese hostage:
Interview with William J. Murray and Tom Goldrick, April 19, 2007.

162.
In New York, the small band:
This fear was related to me by every law enforcement officer that I spoke with who was involved in the Fuk Ching investigation at the time. See also Ying Chan, “N.J. Ambush Fuels Gang War Fear,”
Daily News
, May 27, 1993; Young, “Police Fear Escalation of Gang War.”

162
During the trial of the murderers:
Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.

162
Because the Teaneck trial:
Ibid.

162
“From what I hear”:
Tu Wei Chung testimony, the Teaneck trial.

CHAPTER 10: MUTINY IN THE ATLANTIC

In addition to interviews with law enforcement officials and passengers who were on board the
Golden Venture
, this chapter draws on the accounts of Captain Tobing, Kin Sin Lee, Sam Lwin, and Weng Yu Hui, each of whom gave his version of the mutiny and landing in Queens at one point or another, either in interviews with law enforcement or in testimony related to the various prosecutions that ensued. As indicated in the body of the chapter, the reporting of the
South China Morning Post
put America’s intelligence agencies to shame when it came to discerning, in real time, the trajectory of the
Golden Venture;
fifteen years later I found those articles invaluable in puzzling out the voyage of the ship.

164
The ship’s imminent arrival:
Letter from Carter to Raggi, re: United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al.

164
When Lee was able:
United States v. Moe, 64 F.3d 245, at 248.

164.
Kin Sin Lee was growing anxious:
Ibid.

165.
Captain Tobing liked this new plan:
Ibid.

165
But Lee was in no mood:
Supplemental criminal incident report, William Stray, June 7, 1993.

165
With the matter unresolved:
United States v. Moe, 64 F.3d 245, at 248.

165
He didn’t call it:
Testimony of Kin Sin Lee in United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al., 93 CR 694, June 28, 1994 (hereafter Lee testimony, Lee trial).

165
The ship’s Burmese first officer:
Government appellate brief in United States v. Lee, 122 F.3d 1058, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, April 12, 1995; Lee testimony, Lee trial.

166
In Lwin’s account:
Testimony of Sam Lwin in United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al., 93 CR 694, June 23, 1994.

166
With Tobing locked in his cabin:
Supplemental criminal incident report, Detective William Stray, June 7, 1993.

166
Lee did not know:
Brief for the defendant appellant, Lee Peng Fei, in United States v. Fei, 225 F.3d 167, before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, October 1, 1999.

On the morning of June 4:
“Post-Seizure Analysis—M/V Golden Venture,” unclassified internal Coast Guard document, August 1993.

As early as October 1992:
Interview with Donald Monica, June 9, 2008.

167
At least on paper:
Department of Justice limited official use document, “The Immigration Emergency,” July 8, 1993.