Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Immigration Battle; Crossing the Line; Why Hamas?; Puppy Pipeline; Afghani Man who Converted to Christianity Released; Preacher Murdered; Alcohol at Work

Aired March 27, 2006 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: But first, the case for legal immigration. CNN's Joe Johns has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): Antonio, not his real name, came to this country from Mexico more than 20 years ago and took up renovating houses in Baltimore where we met him last year. An illegal immigrant in business for himself.

ANTONIO, UNDOCUMENTED WORKER: I love work.

JOHNS: He is exactly the kind of undocumented worker advocates of immigration reform point to in making the case that illegal workers are good for the U.S. economy. Antonio told us he works hard, pays taxes, that he hires his own employees.

ANTONIO: We produce money, we no need nothing from the government.

JOHNS (on camera): When you say that, you paid taxes last year?

ANTONIO: Yes, I pay exactly -- exactly -- I pay $11,200 for taxes.

JOHNS (voice-over): In fact, undocumented workers pay a lot of taxes. Many pay real estate taxes either as homeowners or as part of their rent. They pay sales taxes. According to the government, three-quarters of undocumented workers pay payroll taxes, contributing as much as $7 billion in Social Security funds that they will never claim.

Antonio says all he wants is his peace of the American dream and that by being here illegally he's not stealing anybody else's dream or anybody else's job.

ANTONIO: And not to say, think how many job. They need many hands.

JOHNS: Those who could use help from the "Antonios" of the world include small business owners like Tom Wolfgang, whose refrigerated trucking company in the Baltimore area has been suffering from a workforce crunch.

TOM WOLFGANG, TRUCKING COMPANY CO-OWNER: We've actually had to downsize our company over the last three years because we can't find either truck drivers and warehouse people. We've probably downsized about 20 percent.

JOHNS: Not because of supply and demand, but because you couldn't find people.

WOLFGANG: No, actually I've curtailed sales because there's more business than I can handle just because I can't get the labor.

JOHNS: Wolfgang's company doesn't hire illegal immigrants, and finds it difficult to compete against the companies that do. But he's spending a lot of money -- $50,000 in advertising last year alone. Plus, big bucks for legal help to try to get specialized Visas for qualified applicants, as the kind of work that keeps Baltimore's immigration lawyers busy, including Attorney Geoff Tobias, who argues the American economy can't do without the immigrant labor force now working in the shadows. Take the restaurant business.

GEOFF TOBIAS, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: That would almost cease to exist. The construction industry would have a great difficulty. So many seasonal industries, agriculture, landscaping, construction, transportation.

JOHNS: And, says Tobias, companies wouldn't waste all that money paying him to help them get foreign labor if they could get U.S. workers.

TOBIAS: About $18 an hour welding jobs -- we're talking about $18, $15 an hour trucking jobs, truck driving jobs that men, they just cannot find people to handle.

JOHNS: As for Antonio, he said he wishes he had legal status, but with it or without it, his plan is to keep on working.

ANTONIO: Maybe some day I take your job. Why not?

JOHNS (on camera): Joe Johns, CNN, Baltimore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, on the other side, there are Americans who are concerned -- concerned about jobs and national security. To them the problem of illegal immigration is just that, a problem that needs to be fixed.

With that point of view, here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All along the Chesapeake Bay, where hard work and long hours define many jobs, low- wage jobs have drawn large numbers of immigrants. No one knows how many, but everyone has a guess. Including Contractor Ronnie Turner.

RONNIE TURNER, CONTRACTOR: Within the last seven or eight years, the Hispanics have quadrupled here, basically. FOREMAN: He has no complaint with legal arrivals, but illegals are something else.

TURNER: A lot of companies hire those immigrants. And a lot less wages, lower wages than they do, you know, the other guys.

FOREMAN: You think they drive down wage for everyone?

TURNER: Oh sure.

FOREMAN: While many people in this area praise the work ethic of legal immigrants, they also recite the problems they associate with illegals -- social friction, drains on public services, gang violence. Town Council President John Ford has heard it all and says illegals do bring unique challenges.

Are they likely to call the police if they have a problem?

JOHN FORD, EASTON TOWN COUNCIL: They're unlikely to call the police if they have a problem.

FOREMAN (on camera): Are they likely to have medical insurance?

FORD: My feeling is no.

FOREMAN: What about housing?

FORD: Housing is a problem for anybody at the lower economic level. And it's critical with the immigrant population because of the rapid influx that we're experiencing.

FOREMAN (voice-over): At this elementary school, immigrant children now comprise 10 percent of the student body. It's not clear how many are illegal, but Principal Kelly Griffith says when they do arrive illegally, she often does not know how old they are, what grade they are in and how she will pay for the extra help those students need.

KELLY GRIFFITH, PRINCIPAL, EASTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: It's not just about educating them academically, but it's also about really truly educating them culturally. And it starts with expectations. It goes all the -- you know, health, language, it's everything.

FOREMAN (on camera): Many people here will tell you so far their community is handling all of these problems relatively well, but they worry about the future. What will happen if more and more illegal immigrants come?

(Voice-over): Legal migrant workers have visited here for so many years, everyone is used to them. But what is happening now is different.

TURNER: If they come in legally and work, I'm all for it. If they're here illegally, no matter what the circumstances are, I don't think they should be allowed to stay here.

FOREMAN: But right now, this area is grappling with a hard truth. Illegal immigrants are staying -- more and more and more.

Tom Foreman, CNN, on the Chesapeake Bay.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Tom Foreman doing double duty for us tonight.

More now on how the vast majority of Mexican immigrants get here, how they cross the line and who helps them.

From the border, here's CNN's Rick Sanchez.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Far from America's big cities, in the heart of border towns like Tijuana, Mexico, there are tens of thousands of people wanting and trying to get into the U.S. People like Ramon, who prefers we don't use his last name. The man friends call "Money," lives just two blocks from where the money is -- the U.S. border.

(On camera): You can't find enough money here?

I'm literally walking on the yellow line that separates the United States, San Ysidro, California, on this side, from Tijuana, Mexico, on this side.

There are an estimated 700,000 undocumented immigrants that enter into the United States each year. This is one of their points of entry.

(Voice-over): It's a point of entry that Ramon sees as an opportunity. His wife and four children live 17 hours away by car. That's why he chooses to live here, alone, so he can more easily sneak into the U.S.

(On camera): How often do you go in?

Three times, you've tried to get in.

All three attempts have resulted with his being caught and sent back across the border.

You're going to go in again? Why?

He answers, that if he doesn't keep crossing, he wouldn't be able to take care of his family.

What do you say to Americans who are -- who criticize people like you, who say you're breaking the law?

The gringos, as he says, are not willing to do the work. And he adds that as long as there is work, there will be reason for him and others to cross over.

(Voice-over): The resistance, meanwhile, on the other side of the border has been stepped up. So also up is the money smugglers are charging to, quote, "guide people across." (On camera): About 15 years ago, the going rate was $200; and $250 if you want to go above Los Angeles. Well, how much do they charge now? $1,500.

The man in the silhouette, who doesn't want you to see what he looks like, helps people across the border. He compares the people smuggling business to the narcotics trade.

So it's like a drug deal?

A chain.

A chain, he explains, because the smugglers, or coyotes, as they're often called, pass off the immigrants at different steps along the way.

How do they avoid being detected or arrested?

The answer, he explains, has to do with corruption.

You pay the Mexican police?

Paid monthly, he says, to look the other way.

If Mexican authorities are profiting, so are smugglers who know there will always be plenty of people like Ramon who want to reach the other side.

Rick Sanchez, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, they are shunned by most of the Western world, branded as terrorists. But ordinary Palestinians see Hamas though a different lens. A look at why the members of the radical and violent Islamic group are heroes to some.

Plus...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could be in a basket with a blanket over them. They could be in baggage. They could be in the trunk. They could be, you know, they could have tape, they could be taped up.

COOPER: We've heard a lot about a lot of things smuggled across the border. Now puppies. What's behind this often ruthless trade? We'll take you inside, ahead on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, Israelis head to the polls tomorrow, and if opinion surveys are correct, they will most likely elect a middle of the road party to run their government. But no matter who wins, one of the new leadership's priorities will be dealing with a radical Islamic group, Hamas, now in charge of the Palestinian government.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization and has sponsored suicide attacks and American and European nations have said they won't deal with the government unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel. Hamas has solid support, however, among Palestinians.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour went to find out why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Every day thousands of Palestinian workers cross a concrete no man's land, walking back and forth from menial jobs in Israel, to their homes in Gaza.

(On camera): This feted and smelly bleak tunnel is not a formal international border, but it certainly is a separation between two worlds.

We've just left the first world in Israel. And now we're headed to the third world in Gaza city.

(Voice-over): There's chaos and violence ahead. Militant followers of the late Yasser Arafat who, like the West still can't believe that the radical Islamic movement Hamas won the Palestinian election.

The West calls Hamas a terrorist organization. But for many Palestinians, Hamas is a lifeline. For two decades they've built a grassroots network of affordable social services, like this medical clinic that charges $2 a visit.

So when it came time to vote, the Palestinians paid Hamas back. Jamile Ashante (ph), a new Hamas member of parliament showed us a kindergarten. Hamas runs nearly all of them here in the Gaza strip.

(On camera): I think many Americans would be surprised to see the images here. It's all American culture -- Minnie Mouse, Popeye, Tom and Jerry.

JAMILE ASHANTE (ph), NEW HAMAS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Very American.

ASHANTE (ph): Because our children on the television see Tom and Jerry. Now they are very happy. They are playing, they are writing, they are reading. It's very important. Every mother and father of any children of those -- very connected with us.

AMANPOUR: And every mother and father voted for you?

ASHANTE (ph): Yes. Maybe. Most of them. Most of them.

AMANPOUR: You know, in America and in Israel, people have the image of Hamas as a terrorist organization. You know that you're called that?

ASHANTE (ph): Yes. AMANPOUR: They don't have this as the image.

ASHANTE (ph): We are not teaching them any kind of terrorism or something, no, no, no, no.

AVI DICHTER, FORMER HEAD OF SHIN BET: I knew them before they became terrorists. I knew them when they were terrorists. And now they became leaders of the Palestinian authority.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Avi Dichter once headed Israel's Shin Bet security services and may be Israel's next defense minister.

DICHTER: The philosophy of Hamas is well known to us. To build kindergarten mosques, from where they pick up the right people, the strong people, and they recruit them for special units of Hamas -- special units of terror.

AMANPOUR: Hamas launched 50 suicide attacks in the past five years. Israel responded by killing their top leaders. Now Hamas is maintaining a truce. If it stops terrorism and recognizes Israel, Dichter says they can deal with a Hamas government.

DICHTER: A very essential decision has to be taken by themselves. And then they're going to find a partner. But if they are going to continue their system and to attack Israelis, believe me, Christiane, we're going to go down on them, by all means.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Can there ever be peace?

GHAZI HAMAD, EDITOR, HAMAS NEWSPAPER: We hope so. Why not? We believe we can solve our problems with peaceful ways, we welcome it. We will put the weapon down.

AMANPOUR (on camera): Ghazi Hamad edits the "Hamas Newspaper."

You know that people all over are waiting for you to fail -- the United States, maybe Europe, Israel, the Palestinian authority. They don't want to see you succeed.

HAMAD: Yes. But to me, first of all, our people want us to succeed. You might say that they should understand if they got assistance or money, they don't punish Hamas, they punish Palestinian people.

AMANPOUR: The Palestinians may have had a genuinely peaceful and democratic election, but they voted in a government the United States, Israel and most of the West rejects.

(Voice-over): The United States has already said it won't provide any money to the new Palestinian government, and salaries to over 100,000 people may go unpaid. There are shortages of food and medicine. A humanitarian crisis looms for Gaza's 1.5 million people.

That's why so many workers like Ahmed line up at midnight to get to their jobs in Israel the next day. AHMED (through translator), WORKER: My children have started asking my wife, where is our father because they never see me. I slept for two hours last night, at most.

AMANPOUR: Hundreds of other Palestinian workers are ahead of him, waiting for the tunnel to open.

AHMED (through translator): We all try to get to work first so we can keep our jobs. We have to do this in order to eat.

AMANPOUR: It will take many more hours to make it through the security checks to Israel on the other side. But life here in Gaza could get even more difficult now that the Palestinians have elected a government that Israel and the West refuse to deal with.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a day in the court for the woman who reportedly confessed to killing her preacher husband. She was arraigned today. We'll have the latest from the court and an interview with the wife's defense attorney.

Also, it is called the puppy pipeline. Every year hundreds of dogs are smuggled from Mexico into the United States. Tonight, an up close look at this illegal trade.

And then...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: A remarkable young woman. The story of a 16-year-old girl's breakthrough scientific discovery could possibly save thousands of lives every year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, not too long ago we came to you from the site of the largest tunnel ever found under the border between the U.S. and Mexico. That discovery brought to light just how much smuggling happens between those two countries. That's a quick look at the border -- at the tunnel underneath the border. Drugs are smuggled, money, of course, even human beings. While those reports grab headlines, you probably didn't know about another disturbing trade -- the smuggling of puppies, of all things. And guess what, your pet may be one of them.

CNN's Gary Tuchman investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the U.S.- Mexican border, amid the smuggling of human beings and drugs, another type of smuggling is taking place.

These are sick, underage puppies. All 26 of them found stuffed in two small burlap bags in the car of a puppy smuggler. Officials say they would have been sold for want ads on street corners in the U.S. Now, they're fighting for their lives -- too ill and too young.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their faces don't look much bigger than hamsters here.

TUCHMAN: Under California law, dogs can't be sold if they're under eight weeks old or sick. And the vets at the shelter say these dogs are no older than five weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't go too far Meho (ph) because you're going to fall, OK?

TUCHMAN: And underage dogs like these are sold to unsuspecting families all the time for prices well under the more than $1,000 that is often paid in a pet store.

Rosie Tercero bought a poodle mix, named Cody, for her children. After paying $400 on a street corner in Rancho Cucamonga, California, she quickly noticed he was sick.

ROSIE TERCERO, DOG OWNER: And about two weeks later, he started showing worse signs of neurological disorder. And he started twitching really bad and then I took him in and the doctor said we need to put him to sleep.

TUCHMAN: Her sister, Monica Westphaln, bought two tiny dogs for her children this past November. They both died within days.

MONICA WESTPHALN, DOG OWNER: We're now in March, but it still hurts because it was two puppies.

TUCHMAN: Lieutenant Dan De Sousa is with the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

LT. DAN DE SOUSA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES: You know, unfortunately it's safer than selling drugs. If you get caught smuggling puppies, you're not really going to be arrested right away in the same way.

TUCHMAN (on camera): For the conscience-challenged puppy smuggler, the business motto is irresistible. Go into Mexico and you can buy purebred puppies for as little as $20 a piece. Gamble that you successfully get across this border and then sell them in the United States for a 1,000 percent markup. That is a typical scenario.

We went into Tijuana, Mexico, and asked where we could buy puppies. Using hidden cameras, my photographer and I found tiny puppies being sold out of a car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Schnauzer Mini -- Miniature Schnauzer.

TUCHMAN: Schnauzer Miniature?

(Voice-over): It is not illegal to sell dogs younger than eight weeks in Mexico. But because the people selling them know their puppies could end up in California, they may not have told us the following if they knew we had a camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven weeks.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Seven weeks. This dog is seven weeks old, he says.

(Voice-over): We say good bye to these puppy peddlers and make our way to this shanty, where puppies are for sale in the yard.

Here we show the camera, and they show us puppies in a basket. They're only four weeks old -- and not much bigger than large rodents.

(On camera): Do you like dogs?

She says she loves her dogs and wants them to be taken care of properly, but puppies like these are prime candidates to be smuggled across the border.

James Hynes is the director of the San Ysidro, California Border Crossing -- the busiest in the U.S., where they have confiscated hundreds of puppies.

JAMES HYNES, DIRECTOR, SAN YSIDRO, CALIFORNIA BORDER CROSSING: They could be in a basket with a blanket over them. They could be in baggage. They could be in the trunk. They could be, you know, they could have tape. They could be taped up. I man, you never know what you're going to see out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to go ahead and serve the warrant.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): So in southern California, different agencies have gotten together to try to deal with the puppy smuggling problem.

With our hidden camera, we shoot a sting operation. An undercover officer with the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority answered this classified ad from a woman, alleged to have sold many underage puppies in the past.

The transaction takes place and the officer signals. That's when this Los Angeles woman gets the surprise of her life, guns and handcuffs spring out and she's placed under arrest and charged with selling a dog that is too young and sick. She's with her small son and police try to comfort him as they count up $1,700 in her wallet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received previous complaints ability her. We actually think she's a big fish.

TUCHMAN: Do you know why you were arrested?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't. I mean, they said for selling underage dogs, but they're -- they're not.

TUCHMAN: The authorities disagree after a vet looked at the dogs that he said were full of worms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're estimating their age to be six to seven weeks.

TUCHMAN: A search warrant allows authorities to go into her home where they say they find more underage puppies and more excess cash.

The suspect faces the possibility of one year in prison. Police say puppy smuggling is increasingly popular because small dogs are very trendy.

Monica smith, though, says she just wanted a dog for her children to love.

What happened to your doggy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: He died.

TUCHMAN: And so have countless others. Smuggled across the border by people not at all consumed about the heartache they are causing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Gary, I mean in addition to what the police are doing, is there anything else that can be done to stop this black market sale of puppies?

TUCHMAN (on camera): The key is, Anderson, for dog lovers not to buy black market puppies. The way to do that is not to buy dogs you see on the street. When you see them on the street, it's a very good sign that they're black market dogs, that they shouldn't be bought.

Now, a lot of people we talked to say yes, I know that they may be black market dogs, but I thought I should protect them by buying them. But you're better off calling the humane society if you see dogs being sold on the street.

Also if you buy dogs in a pet store that you might not think is reputable, it's very important that they take credit cards. If they say, we only take cash, that's a suspicious sign.

And one other thing, if a dog comes without papers or papers that look doctored, that's also a bad sign.

COOPER: All right, Gary Tuchman, I didn't know about this. Thanks.

A preacher murdered. His wife charged with the crime. Police say she confessed to it, but the question remains, why did she do it? We'll talk to her defense attorney ahead.

Also, from work alcoholics to alcoholics. Executives who drink on the job, and the toll it is taking on their professional and personal lives.

Across America and around the world, you're watching 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we have some breaking news to report out of Afghanistan. The "Associated Press" is now reporting that Abdul Rahman, the man facing death for converting to Christianity, has been released from prison.

That is a photograph of him, some video taken earlier. The "Associated Press" is quoting an Afghan deputy attorney general. We are trying to independently confirm this report, but right now the "Associated Press" is reporting that that man, Abdul Rahman, who had earlier faced a death penalty has been released.

He has not been released, now we should point out -- if in fact he has been released, it is not because the case was really overturned. They basically ruled that based on new testimony from some of this man's relatives, his relatives saying he is mentally deranged in essence, and so they threw the case out based on that.

This man now has apparently, according to reports, asked for asylum in a foreign country. It is not clear if asylum has been granted. There have been large-scale demonstrations in Kabul and throughout Afghanistan, calling for this man to be beheaded. In fact, Muslim clerics in Kabul have also called for the death of Abdul Rahman.

We had a piece about this in the last hour on 360. I want to just take a brief look at it now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): There's not much sympathy for Abdul Rahman on the streets of Afghanistan.

Today several hundred protestors turned out in one Afghan city, calling for his execution and chanting "death to Christians." At prayers in the mosques of Kabul, clerics have also called for his death.

Rahman's crime is that he became a Christian 16 years ago while an aide worker helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. After a family dispute, relatives reported him to police and he was charged with giving up Islam for another religion.

Under Islamic law, that carries the death penalty, even though Afghanistan's new constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

The case has been a major embarrassment for the Afghan government. President Bush said he was deeply troubled by it. And the U.S. and other Western allies called on Afghanistan to drop the charges.

But President Karzai did not want to be seen as buckling to outside pressure, especially with public opinion so hostile to Rahman.

Encouraged by onlookers, this student said the death penalty is a lesson for anyone considering abandoning Islam.

The 41-year-old Rahman even had to be moved to this maximum security jail after detainees in police cells threatened his life.

Then finally, for the government a way out of the crisis. Prosecutors announce that according to his daughter and cousin, Rahman has mental problems. Now the court has dropped the case, and Rahman has asked for asylum overseas.

If he stayed in Afghanistan, it is unlikely he'd survive very long.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (on camera): So again, the breaking news to report, according to the "Associated Press," he has now been released from prison. His whereabouts at this point, we do not know. We have not independently confirmed this. We are trying to do that as we speak.

As we said in the piece, he had requested asylum in another country. That is likely to happen, but we will continue to follow it throughout this hour and the coming days.

Back home, a different kind of story about religion. The preacher's wife who police say confessed to killing her husband. She now sits behind bars in a Tennessee jail, charged with first-degree murder. Today, a charge that could carry a possible death penalty. She was in court today.

In a moment, you'll hear some from her attorney, CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She planned it, and then she shot her husband in the back -- at least that's what police say Mary Winkler told them.

Eyes downcast as she shuffled into the courtroom, Mary Winkler looked up only to speak to the judge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any questions?

MARY WINKLER, ACCUSED OF SHOOTING HER HUSBAND: No, sir.

DORNIN: No plea and no answers as to why a woman, known to be the loving wife of the local minister, would do something so out of character.

(On camera): Pam Killingsworth doesn't have any answers. A teacher at the same school where Winkler is a substitute, she went to jail to see her.

PAM KILLINGSWORTH, FRIEND: She waved through the window and she smiled at me and I smiled at her.

DORNIN (voice-over): Visiting with her fellow church member through the bulletproof glass, she says Winkler begged her to write a note to the congregation and the community.

KILLINGSWORTH: Tell them that I'm so sorry for everything that I've done, and to tell them to pray for me, and I'm asking for forgiveness for everything that I've done.

DORNIN: Several of her fellow church members were in court, to let Mary Winkler know they care.

Her attorneys say Winkler will plead not guilty. But what about the confession?

LESLIE BALLIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Whether or not when a person tells their side of what happened it amounts to a confession, that is an admission of guilt, that's something else, you know.

DORNIN: You're questioning that? You're questioning that?

BALLIN: I'm questioning whether or not it's a confession. It may be a statement of what happened, but I don't know what is contained in that statement.

DORNIN: Her attorneys say we may learn that the public face of the Winkler family was very different from the private one. But just what did go on behind closed doors at the Winkler home?

(On camera): Police have pretty much ruled out infidelity, but they won't comment on domestic abuse. Did you ever see any signs in school with those children?

KILLINGSWORTH: I never saw any signs of domestic abuse. Mary never -- she never said anything. And as much as I was with the children, nothing was ever said. There were no actions. Usually there'll be telltale signs -- a child will act a certain way, their body language -- there was never any of that with either one of those children.

DORNIN (voice-over): While most who knew the Winklers described them in glowing terms, one neighbor says she saw a different side of Matthew Winkler.

SHARYN EVERITT, NEIGHBOR: It was totally not what I expected from a preacher.

DORNIN: Sharyn Everitt says Winkler was angry about her dogs running loose in the yard and frightened her children.

EVERITT: And then he said if that dog comes over in my yard, I'll shoot it.

DORNIN: She says he repeated the warning to her husband six months later. An isolated incident perhaps, but Everitt wonders.

EVERITT: He wasn't perfect. He absolutely, I mean, if we're going to elevate him to sainthood, let's wait until after the court and let's see what really did happen.

DORNIN: At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, police will likely use Mary Winkler's own words to say what happened. Her husband's funeral will be held at the same church where he preached for the last year.

(On camera): A small town reeling from loss. There are only three things the residents here know for sure. Matthew Winkler is dead, their children have lost their father, and now they may lose their mother.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Selmer, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, in a moment we're going to talk to the attorney for Mary Winkler. That story coming up.

And then, a good number of Americans are drinking on the job. You might be working with or for an alcoholic. We'll look at the problem that is hiding in plain sight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, if there is a motive for the killing of a minister in Selmer, Tennessee, authorities are not saying. However, the attorney for the suspect, his wife, Mary, is talking about his client and the case.

Steve Farese joined me earlier from Memphis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Steve, the arrest warrant from Alabama claims that your client confessed to killing her husband. Did she say what she told them?

STEVE FARESE, ATTORNEY FOR MARY WINKLER: Well, she has discussed many things with me. What she's told me, I cannot discuss publicly. But she has mentioned this, that she did talk to the police. So if that's a statement, if that's a confession, then it is what it is.

COOPER: Are you concerned about the fact that she's talked to the police? I assume you were not present for that.

FARESE: Well, certainly I was not present because it evidently occurred. But I did try to call Thursday night to the authorities. They did confirm she was there. They would not let me speak to her. I tried to get her a message and of course, was unable to do so.

COOPER: Police will not discuss a motive. They've ruled out infidelity they say. Do you know anything about a possible motive? FARESE: I do not know anything about a possible motive.

COOPER: To your knowledge, was there abuse in that household?

FARESE: Well, you know, that's a difficult question because many times we think about sexual abuse or physical abuse, and due to the fact that Matthew has yet to be buried, I'd rather not discuss that issue at this time.

COOPER: How is Mary doing?

FARESE: She is battling through. She is suffering from, you know, the mental effects that one would have, facing such circumstances. She's very reserved. She's very quiet. She's very shy by nature. And she's handling it as well as she can.

COOPER: Do you know what the kids know? I mean, apparently they are now living with the paternal grandparents. Do you know or can you say what the children have been told?

FARESE: It's my belief that the children are being handled very carefully by the paternal grandparents. And I think that they are aware of their father's death, but I do not believe they're aware of all the circumstances surrounding that death.

COOPER: Today in court, your client did not enter a plea. Will she plea? And if so, can you say what she will?

FARESE: There will be an informal plea during the preliminary hearing process on Thursday, which will be, of course, a plea of not guilty. And then if she is indicted, later upon presentation of the indictment, there will be a formal entry of a plea of not guilty.

COOPER: And according to one of her church friends who I guess saw her, the friend said that Mary had asked her to apologize to the church and the community for everything that had gone on, that she had done -- has she said anything similar to you?

FARESE: She's very close to the church. She loves the church. She loves everyone in the church. In fact, that was so much of her life. Not in words such as that, but she has told me that she hates that this has caused the church to come under a microscope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, are people at your office drinking on the job? That's a question you probably don't talk to your coworkers very much about. But you may be surprised by how many people actually are. That story is coming up.

First, Christi Paul from "HEADLINE NEWS," with the business headlines -- Christi.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Anderson.

Blue chips jittery in advance of tomorrow's Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. The Dow falling 30 points to 11250. Investors expecting rates to rise tomorrow.

Not sure, but scientists say they may have discovered a drug combination that prevents the HIV virus from taking hold in the body. Two drugs tested on monkeys have been so successful, the trials will be extended to healthy high risk men and women.

And dream on and on and on -- Boeing says demand for its new 787 Dreamliner, has prompted it to make a stretched version. The new plane will begin commercial flights in 2008. I know larger seats, larger aisles accompanying that, Anderson, and probably some larger prices.

COOPER: Probably. Christi, thanks.

Coming up, it is a problem that is literally hiding in plain sight. Drinking on the job, is it happening in your office? We'll have a revealing look, next on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: An update now on the breaking news out of Afghanistan. The "Associated Press," reporting that Abdul Rahman, the man facing death for converting to Christianity, has been released from prison. The "A.P." quoting an afghan deputy attorney general says, and we quote, "We issued a letter saying he was mentally unfit to stand trial so he has been released." He went on to say, "I don't know where he is now."

Mr. Rahman, you may recall, is asking for asylum in another country. There have been large-scale demonstration in Kabul and throughout Afghanistan, calling for the death of Mr. Rahman and, in fact, several Muslim clerics in Kabul used their pulpits to also call for his death.

Well, the odds are that some of your coworkers are drinking on the job. According to researchers at the University of Buffalo, 7 percent of employees have admitted to drinking alcohol at work in the past year.

Here's CNN's Heidi Collins with a problem that is literally hiding in plain sight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

J.D., RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC: It started innocently enough, just a sip of Dad's wine or a sip of his beer.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At first, partying was just a way to blow off steam.

J.D.: As I got into my late teens, it was an everyday occurrence. Friends would show me pictures of things that we were doing -- some of it was hilarious, some of it was just funny. But later on, the stakes got higher.

COLLINS: Back then, J.D., now the owner of a successful multimillion dollar construction company, didn't let drinking get in the way of work.

J.D.: Whether that was at noon, when we got rained out; or whether it was at 8:00 at night, you'd get back to the yards, you'd park the rigs and you drink.

COLLINS: Ambitious, bright and bold, H.D. started his own excavation company when he was in his 20s.

J.D.: I became a workaholic long before I was an alcoholic.

COLLINS: But as the pressure to succeed grew, so did J.D.'s problems with booze. Drinking after work, soon became drinking at work.

J.D.: I would close the door to the office and start drinking or I would just simply leave. Go to the bars.

COLLINS: J.D. even made deals when he was drunk.

J.D.: There were times where I'd have conversations with either employees or sometimes customers, and the following day I'd try to piece it all back together.

COLLINS: Sometimes J.D. became verbally abusive.

J.D.: If I felt that somebody had not done everything that I expected them to do, that was it. No explanations, no second chances.

COLLINS (on camera): You'd blow up and fire them?

J.D.: Instantly.

COLILNS (voice-over): But the greatest damage happened in his personal life. J.D. has been arrested numerous times, including three DUIs.

(On camera): What was the low point when you were drinking?

J.D.: I have two daughters that I haven't seen in about 14 months for more than seven or eight hours total. And I think that that's -- that was probably bottom. Not probably, that was bottom.

DIANNE ALLEN, CLINICAL DIRECTOR, GULF COAST RECOVERY: So is there anything anybody wants to talk about?

COLLINS (voice-over): In October, J.D. checked himself into Gulf Coast Recovery, near Tampa, Florida.

ALLEN: Intelligence and affluence are your two biggest barriers to staying sober.

COLLINS: Dianne Allen has been working with people in recovery for 20 years. She says there is a desperate need for specialized treatment for executives.

ALLEN: I don't know if they drink more, but it's hidden longer. Money insulates. They can go get a DUI, hire a good attorney, get off with reckless driving and brag about it.

COLLINS (on camera): What is so different about treating them? What sort of traits do they have?

ALLEN: Most of the people that I see here are creative. They're very fast thinkers. Usually a little bit more intelligent, and they tend to be very stuck in their ways, but yet real creative at the same time.

COLLINS: They may also be isolated.

ALLEN: For the most part, they're at the top of their company. And so they don't have a lot of people to talk to.

COLLINS (voice-over): Here, there is a lot of talking. Along with attending 12 Step meetings, executives meet one-on-one with Dianne and spend up to 16 hours a week with other executives in group therapy.

ALLEN: One of the things your addiction does is it undermines who you are.

COLLINS: They're also given homework, writing assignments to reflect on why they drink and what they will do to stay sober. The program is intentionally small -- no more than 10 executives at any given time.

Alumni like J.D. are allowed and encouraged to check in often.

J.D.: It eats me up because I cheated myself. I lied to myself.

COLLINS: But it's not just about talking. What also makes this program unique is its focus on holistic living.

Where J.D.'s priority used to be hitting the bar, it's now hitting the barbells. Executives are required to work out with a trainer and get massages. Meditation and nutrition are the other key components.

Clean, since the end of October, J.D. has lost 25 pounds.

ALLEN: What I'm trying to do is have them see that if they have a balance between a mental and an emotional and a physical and a spiritual way of living, that that balance comes together in a synergy and makes them more effective people.

COLLINS: The program is also specifically designed for people who cannot drop out of work for a month. Executives are allowed to keep in touch with the office.

J.D. says every now and then he thinks about having a drink. But ultimately, keeping clean is far too important.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

J.D.: I see myself sober, sane, with my girls. I want to be happy.

COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, Tampa, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, "On the Radar," tonight, Tom Foreman's report on a real life exorcist -- is he for real? Or just a guy with a hellacious line of bull?

Your weighing in on the blog, says Arachnae in Sterling, Virginia, "Whatever next? Burning heretics at the stake?"

But Judy in Atlanta replies, "I think it's a little freaky but I know it's real."

And from Alan in Shreveport, Louisiana, "Jesus cast out demons during his walk on earth, and has empowered his followers to do the same thing in our day and time."

Meantime, Reverend Kelly Taylor says of Norman, Oklahoma, says, "This is all for show, and to shake loose any spare change from people who are already gullible and susceptible to suggestion, especially anything with a wisp of God added for spice."

Mmm, spice. More of 360 in a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We want to quickly update you on a breaking news story out of Afghanistan. The "Associated Press" is reporting that Abdul Rahman, the man facing death for converting to Christianity, has been released from prison.

That is a video of him taken earlier. Now the "Associated Press" quoting an Afghan deputy attorney general says, and we quote, "We issued a letter saying he was mentally unfit to stand trial so he has been released." He went on to say, "I don't know where he is now."

Earlier, a Western diplomat and Afghan officials close to President Hamid Karzai said that Abdul Rahman was about to be released from custody.

Mr. Rahman, you may recall, is asking for asylum in another country. He reportedly converted 16 years ago while he was a medical aide worker for an international organization. The information recently came to light during a civil case.

Again, we do not know his present location. And all this information comes from the "Associated Press." We have not independently confirmed it.

Thanks for watching 360. We'll see you again tomorrow night.

"LARRY KING" is next. His guest, Michael Schiavo.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com