$9M richer, informant unmasks himself at NY trial

[Blue_Tires]

NEW YORK — The most bankable star witness at the trial of an ex-Soviet officer known as the Merchant of Death was a former drug dealer turned U.S. government-sponsored actor who became one of the highest paid informants in history.

Carlos Sagastume, 40, earned more than $9 million over 15 years by convincing drug dealers and a weapons merchant that he was as bad — if not worse — than they.

Collecting evidence against Viktor Bout was another major achievement in a remarkable career for Sagastume. He posed as a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC, to coax Bout to travel from Russia to Thailand in March 2008 to arrange to send deadly weapons to Colombian rebels to fight Americans.

Sagastume made most of his millions through the State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program, collecting $7.5 million from two rewards for work he did for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Another $1.6 million was earned through work on 150 investigations, though some of the money covered expenses.

He was paid $250,000 for the Bout probe. In all, the State Department has paid more than $62 million in rewards since Congress established the program in 1986 to reward individuals who provide information to help arrest and convict drug dealers.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/9m-richer-informant-unmasks-1218927.html

[msanthrope]

1. I don't have a problem with this, as long as the payments are revealed to the jury

trying the person.

It's the job of the jury to assess the veracity of each witness.