Jean Duffey, former head of an Arkansas drug task force, is no
stranger to
receiving threats against her. But the early morning call from her
brother,
Mark Keesee, two weeks ago, stunned her. Mark is the webmaster for the
“Train
Deaths” Web site operated by Duffey and Linda Ives, the mother of one of
the
boys killed in the Mena, Ark. drug-related incident in 1987.
Mark called to tell Jean that he had just received three e-mail death
threats
from a location inside Thailand. The first threat read simply: “only
fear of
death.” The second, coming just a few minutes later read: “Do you have a
death
wish?” and “Change the world! I wish you good luck.” The third was more
direct:
“Yo homes my community is angry with you mister 9mm is going to blast
your
ass.”
“Mark and I have both received various threats before, but there is
something
very chilling in the phrasing of this message,” said Duffey. “Worse
still, the
sender is apparently not concerned that the e-mail can be traced;
perhaps even
counting on it, which sounds to me like a drug/mob-type warning.”
Mark notified his Internet provider of the death threat and the
service
contacted him within two days with the results of a tracer. The provider
could
only find out the name of the Internet service in Thailand. The
corporate name
is Taksin Cybernet Corporation Limited in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province in
southern Thailand. He was told that Southwestern Bell has no way of
finding
out the names of those using the Internet service in Thailand.
“I convinced Mark to report the threat to the authorities but had a
sinking
feeling when I realized who he would have to contact. We are going to
have to
rely on the FBI to investigate the threat and to provide Mark
protection,”
says Duffey.
Unfortunately, Duffey and others attempting to expose drug
trafficking in
Arkansas have met with stonewalling from the director of the Arkansas
FBI,
I.C. Smith. Duffey and Linda Ives met with Smith on May 29, 1998, to
discuss
new evidence in the train deaths case and related matters. When they
realized
he was unwilling to help them, they posted their concerns on their
“Train
Deaths” Web site.
On July 23, Smith announced his retirement from the FBI, so Duffey is
uncertain who will be taking over his position as FBI director in
Arkansas.
In related Arkansas drug news, on July 29, Roger Walls, former head
of the 7th
Judicial District Drug Task Force, was sentenced to 28 months in jail
for
conspiring to extort money from a Texas drug user. Walls is an
accomplice with
Dan Harmon, the former prosecuting attorney who was also involved in
drug
running and racketeering in Arkansas. Harmon was sentenced to eight
years in
prison in May for his crimes.
Harmon and Walls were involved in the attempt to frame Jean Duffey.
It was
Harmon who managed to shut down Duffey’s investigation of drug
trafficking
among Arkansas officials. In the recently posted CBN story, Duffey
describes
Harmon: “The corruption is on a lot of different levels. And it’s
extensive.
It’s from local all the way up to federal. When my task force officers
were
linking public officials to drug trafficking, Dan Harmon was a name that
came
up consistently. No matter who else or what direction we went, Dan
Harmon
always seemed to be in the middle of it.”
Harmon has also been implicated in the train death murders by his
former
girlfriend, Sharlene Wilson who is currently facing 31 years in an
Arkansas
prison. Wilson says she was with Harmon near the tracks the night Kevin
Ives
and Don Henry were murdered. (See CBN’s story, “The Boys on the Tracks:
Part
II” for more details.)
For continuing updates on the “Train Deaths,” access Duffey’s Web
site.
