Follow-Up: Free “Ten Romeo”!
GUEST EDITORIAL FOLLOW-UP. Three months ago, AVweb ran a guest editorial about the seizure by the U.S. Treasury Department of Beech Bonanza N7710R after its owner, Dr. Millard Harmon, declared an emergency and landed the oil-covered aircraft in Havana, Cuba. Since then, hundreds of readers have asked for an update on Ten Romeo. Ron Kensey reports that theres good news and bad news: the U.S. Attorney has dropped three of the four federal charges against Dr. Harmon, but the fourth charge still stands, and Harmon is still without his beloved Ten Romeo some nine months after it was confiscated. Rons update includes suggestions about how you can help.
If the case of "TenRomeo" proves anything, it's that the government is not always right.
A few months ago, I wrote an AVweb guest editorialadvising that the Federal Government had confiscated Dr. Millard Harmon's Beech Bonanza36, N7710R. I owe you an update.
In civil action, the United States sued Dr. Harmon, charging him with:
intentionally landing in Cuba;
delivering medicine without a license, thereby violating the U.S. embargo of Cuba;
delivering medicine to unknowns; and
failure to clear U.S. Customs in Miami.
| From the desk of Dear AVweb Friends, What a comfort your comments have been during this low period of my life! For the first time in 35 years, I am without my personal aircraft to jump into at a moment's notice. I know that when life becomes too difficult, twenty minutes after becoming airborne, all problems seem inconsequential. I become "free as a bird," and revel in the joy of slipping the confining bonds of earth. Thinking becomes clearer, one is closer to his Maker, and life is once again filled with joy and satisfaction. Losing TEN ROMEO to what I believe to be an illegal government confiscation has deprived me of the center of my life. I greatly appreciate your support and concern. However, please join me as I put temporal problems aside and concentrate on this joyous season and the promise it brings! The government still has TEN ROMEO. I'll contact you after the holidays for an update on my battle. Government has become too complicated and too compartmentalized to properly serve the needs of average citizens, but our day will come!
| From the desk of Dear AVweb Friends, What a comfort your comments have been during this low period of my life! For the first time in 35 years, I am without my personal aircraft to jump into at a moment's notice. I know that when life becomes too difficult, twenty minutes after becoming airborne, all problems seem inconsequential. I become "free as a bird," and revel in the joy of slipping the confining bonds of earth. Thinking becomes clearer, one is closer to his Maker, and life is once again filled with joy and satisfaction. Losing TEN ROMEO to what I believe to be an illegal government confiscation has deprived me of the center of my life. I greatly appreciate your support and concern. However, please join me as I put temporal problems aside and concentrate on this joyous season and the promise it brings! The government still has TEN ROMEO. I'll contact you after the holidays for an update on my battle. Government has become too complicated and too compartmentalized to properly serve the needs of average citizens, but our day will come!
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From the desk of Dear AVweb Friends, What a comfort your comments have been during this low period of my life! For the first time in 35 years, I am without my personal aircraft to jump into at a moment's notice. I know that when life becomes too difficult, twenty minutes after becoming airborne, all problems seem inconsequential. I become "free as a bird," and revel in the joy of slipping the confining bonds of earth. Thinking becomes clearer, one is closer to his Maker, and life is once again filled with joy and satisfaction. Losing TEN ROMEO to what I believe to be an illegal government confiscation has deprived me of the center of my life. I greatly appreciate your support and concern. However, please join me as I put temporal problems aside and concentrate on this joyous season and the promise it brings! The government still has TEN ROMEO. I'll contact you after the holidays for an update on my battle. Government has become too complicated and too compartmentalized to properly serve the needs of average citizens, but our day will come!
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From the desk of Dear AVweb Friends, What a comfort your comments have been during this low period of my life! For the first time in 35 years, I am without my personal aircraft to jump into at a moment's notice. I know that when life becomes too difficult, twenty minutes after becoming airborne, all problems seem inconsequential. I become "free as a bird," and revel in the joy of slipping the confining bonds of earth. Thinking becomes clearer, one is closer to his Maker, and life is once again filled with joy and satisfaction. Losing TEN ROMEO to what I believe to be an illegal government confiscation has deprived me of the center of my life. I greatly appreciate your support and concern. However, please join me as I put temporal problems aside and concentrate on this joyous season and the promise it brings! The government still has TEN ROMEO. I'll contact you after the holidays for an update on my battle. Government has become too complicated and too compartmentalized to properly serve the needs of average citizens, but our day will come!
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Since then, the U.S. Attorney has dropped three out of the four charges.By doing so, the government has now acknowledged that Dr. Harmon did have a Treasury OFAClicense to export lifesaving medicines, that he didn't just give them to anyone, and thatit was an in-flight emergency that caused Dr. Harmon to land in Cuba instead of hisintended destination of Grand Cayman.
The one charge that remains has to do with Dr. Harmon bypassing U.S. Customs inMiami during his return flight, and instead clearing Customs in Albany, New York.Harmon knew the Feds were upset with him, and felt he could better clear up themisunderstanding at his home base of Albany, where he was well-known by the local U.S.Customs officials. He fully expected his airplane to be confiscated until themisunderstanding was cleared up, and preferred to have that happen where he wouldn't haveto live in a motel room for weeks or months while the matter was sorted out.
The day before his return to the U.S., Harmon explained this in a FAX sent from GrandCayman to Customs Commissioner Weise in Washington, D.C., and Customs Director TonyKnappik in Miami. But despite the fact that he made his plans and reasons known inwriting, his plane was followed by a Government drug interdiction airplane on its flightfrom Miami to Albany, and his aircraft was confiscated when it landed in Albany.
At this point, we don't know what will happen. The good news is thatthree of the four charges the Feds initially made have been dropped, because in fact theywere made in haste and without due dilligence. Ready, Fire, Aim! The bad news isthat the one remaining claim could still result in the forfeiture of "Ten Romeo"if the Court decides (as the Government is urging) that Harmon must pay for the flight ofthe drug interdiction aircraft that tailed him from Miami to Albany, plus storage of hisconfiscated aircraft for a year and court costs. If the U.S. Government prevails,Dr. Harmon could be faced with paying many thousands of dollars to get his aircraft out ofhock...or he may lose his airplane altogether. In my opinion, that would be a travesty.
What you can do to help
Many of you haveasked what you could do to help. We have offered to raise money for the defense of"Ten Romeo" but Dr. Harmon is reluctant to accept financial help at this time.
I believe the best way we could help is to get the national news media involved. Thepublic pressure that might result if the story of the "Ten Romeo" confiscationwere told on ABC's 20/20, CBS's 60 Minutes, NBC's Dateline, or CNN's Imact might well helpus turn the tide. If anyone reading this has the willingness, know-how andcontacts necessary to help bring this case to the attention of the national TVnewsmagazine producers, please contact me anytime, day or night, at 1-307-674-6498.
