![]() He filed a lawsuit against the federal government to get the money back, but he lost, according to court records. Stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer say that after Don Whittington’s release, he cashed in $1.3 million in gold at a Delaware bank, but federal agents confiscated the money. But Bill was released early in November 1990, according to the Bureau of Prisons. In a related case, Bill Whittington pleaded guilty to marijuana smuggling and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In 1987, Don Whittington pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Their best showing was Don Whittington’s sixth place in 1982. They both drove in the Indianapolis 500 five times. Along with Klaus Ludwig, they won the Le Mans, France, 24-hour endurance race in 1979. The Whittington brothers have led colorful lives. Long-term plans call for time shares, an expanded hotel and retail development. The resort received approval from the town in 2008 to expand the number of its hot springs pools from 18 to 23, along with the construction of a 29-room hotel. Since 2012, Keely Whittington has worked for the town of Pagosa Springs as a project manager in the planning department.īank records show World Jet wired $451,000 to the Pagosa spa in 2009, and the spa wired back $111,408 the same year, according to the search warrant affidavit.Īround that time, federal agents seized $645,000 from World Jet’s bank account, causing Don and Bill Whittington to change “their method of transferring illegal proceeds from Florida to Colorado from direct wire transfers to indirect wire transfers using third parties and possibly bulk cash transportation,” Amell wrote in the affidavit.īill Whittington has promoted a $250 million, multi-year expansion of the Springs Resort to Pagosa’s Town Council. All of the companies, including Gulfstream, use World Jet’s address at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Keely is an officer in 15 companies, mostly the same ones as Nerissa. Nerissa Whittington is an officer of 19 different companies registered in Florida. Nerissa and Keely Whittington are officers of the Gulfstream Group, an Albuquerque-based real estate company, which owns the Springs Resort. The address is a hangar at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The Springs Resort’s parent company, Pagosa Resort and Spa, has the same address as World Jet – 1020 NW 62nd Street in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Bill Whittington, their father, has been representing the hot springs resort to the Pagosa Springs town government as it pursues a decade-long expansion project. Nerissa and Keely Whittington are identified publicly as the resort’s owners. ![]() The pilot of that flight was Gregory Dean Smith, who the DEA says is a World Jet contract employee and a “pilot of interest” in investigations of Latin American drug smuggling. “Nerissa and Keely Whittington are honest members of the Pagosa Springs business community, and any allegation that they or the Springs Resort are involved in any illegal activity is absurd and unfounded,” said Eric Loman, a lawyer for the sisters and the resort.Ī DEA spokesman in Denver did not return a call after a brief conversation with The Durango Herald on Monday and an email Friday.Īgents had Don Whittington under surveillance when he flew into Pagosa Springs on April 19, according to the affidavit. ![]() ![]() Hot springs owners Nerissa and Keely Whittington deny the allegations. Whittington and his brother, William Marvin “Bill” Whittington, are former champion race car drivers, and they both served prison time in the 1980s for charges related to marijuana smuggling.ĭon Whittington now owns World Jet, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., firm that federal agents say offers jets to carry South American drug shipments.Ī DEA informant said Whittington is laundering his proceeds through the Springs Resort and Spa in Pagosa Springs, according to a 35-page affidavit by DEA Special Agent Charles Amell. Drug Enforcement Administration official detailed a lengthy investigation of aircraft dealer Reginald “Don” Whittington, 67, in an affidavit in support of a search warrant for Whittington’s emails. No one has been accused of a crime, but a U.S. Federal authorities are investigating the family of the owners of the Springs Resort & Spa in Pagosa Springs for possibly laundering drug money through the famous hot springs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |