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Pete Rose Jr. Facing Federal Drug-Trafficking Charges; French Government Struggles to Stop Rioting; The War on Meth

Aired November 07, 2005 - 13:31   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And Pete Rose is in trouble. No, no, not that Pete Rose, his son, Pete Rose Jr. He's facing federal drug- trafficking charges, and according to court papers. the younger Rose admitted he supplied a performance-enhancing drug to fellow members of his minor league baseball team.
And joining us with more on this story is CNN's Brian Todd, live from Washington.

OK, let's sort all this out. What kind of drugs are we talking about?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, this is actually an important precursor to the date-rape drug. The drug that Pete Rose Jr. is accused of trafficking is called GBL. Now, once that enters the system it becomes another drug called GHB. Both have very long clinical names. GHB is actually the date-rape drug, but GBL, which Pete Rose Jr., is accused of trafficking, is the precursor to it. Once it enters the body, as we said, it becomes the date rape drug.

Now, we are told that Pete Rose Jr. has just turned himself in at U.S. district court in Nashville, Tennessee, and he is expected to plead guilty, charged with one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute the so-called date rape drug or its precursor. Federal authorities tell CNN Pete Rose Jr. confessed that he had received shipments of the drug from another man while Rose was playing with the minor league Chattanooga Lookouts. The son of the legendary baseball star, according to agents, admitted to supplying several members of that team with the drug.

Team officials say they have no knowledge of that, but Drug Enforcement Administration officials tell CNN Rose said teammates would take the drug to, quote, "wind down after games." Agents tell us that Rose, who is in court at this hour, is a small player in a much larger operation.

This in fact is part of a six-year investigation that last year netted one of the biggest hauls ever of the date-rape drug. As we say, that precursor known as GBL. About 280 gallons was seized in January of last year in Murphyesboro, Tennessee. We have tried to reach Pete Rose Jr.'s attorney and Pete Rose Sr. for comment. They have not returned our phone calls -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Brian, you mentioned a larger investigation. Are you expecting any other bigger arrests to come out of this? TODD: DEA officials tell us that investigation is ongoing. They do expect to make some other arrests. They can't tell us much more than that. One of the figures involved with Rose, according to agents, was a gentleman who was involved in that region of trafficking. He turned himself in last year, and then skipped out on his sentencing, so he is right now a fugitive. They expect -- they don't expect. They're trying to find him right now, and the investigation is ongoing. They say this is a much, much bigger operation than just, you know, involving the small circle around Pete Rose Jr.

NGUYEN: All right. Brian Todd on top of it. Thank you.

TODD: Sure.

It began just outside of Paris 11 days ago, but now the violence and arson that stunned France has spread to 300 towns and across the border. It's also turned deadly. And as the French government struggles to stop the rioting, the rest of Europe is watching very closely.

CNN's Becky Anderson is in Paris. Give us an update on the violence so far today.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, one of the editorials in one of the main newspapers in Paris today asking simply this, how long is this going to last? And the point, I guess, of all of that is that question cannot be answered at this point. It's a question that nobody seems able to answer. And therefore, for a 12th night, Paris and the rest of France is on tenterhooks. Rioters fired at police, torched schools and hospitals on an 11th night of rioting on Sunday night, and as you say, a fatality at the end of all of this, a 61- year-old man who was the caretaker of one of the council areas, one of the low-cost housing areas where some of this rioting has been going on, lost his life after having been in a coma for a couple of days.

Some 77 policemen have been injured, some 31 firefighters over the last 11 days have been injured. Two of those policemen were fired at with bullets, not particularly offensive bullets. These were pellets, effectively, from what are the youth, the immigrant youth of some of these low-cost housing areas in and around Paris and the rest of France. Many people calling those immigrants dispossessed and excluded. They say they're looking for jobs, they're looking for better employment, they're looking for better housing and better education. But the French politicians here say that law and order must be restored.

We're waiting on a speech from the Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin in just less than half an hour's time. The president holding an emergency session yesterday of his cabinet said that law and order will be restored, and he's put 2,500 extra police on the streets.

The interior minister, though, Mr. Sarcosi, in Paris sparking much of this, according to those who are rioting, by calling those who say they're dispossessed, say they're excluded, calling them scum. He's said they should be washed out of these areas. A very difficult situation. They say his comments have sparked further rioting. Many people here saying this is just wanton violence. As I say, a lot of anxiety across France tonight -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, a difficult situation indeed. Becky Anderson for us in Paris. Thank you, Becky. Now, the anger in France may also be spilling over to Germany. Police in Berlin are investigating whether an arson early today was a copycat crime. Someone set five cars on fire in a working-class part of the city. But German officials are playing down the risk of French-style riots in their country.

An expert on European politics says the anger in France has been brewing for a long time now. He's going to join us in the next hour to talk about that right here on LIVE FROM.

Back in this country, it was a grainy video that horrified a community and the nation, a man seen snatching an 11-year-old girl as she walked home from a friend's house last year. Remember this? We all saw it. Carlie Brucia's body was found days later. And today her alleged killer is going on trial.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us live from Miami with the latest on this trial -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Betty.

So far, prosecutors have meticulously laid out their case against the defendant, Joseph Smith. He is the father of three daughters, who is now accused of taking the life of someone else's child. And you mentioned that surveillance video that we are now all so familiar with, that was taken on Super Bowl Sunday a year ago last year. On that tape, say prosecutors, Smith is identified as the man identified by a coworker as Joseph Smith, the man who steps up to Carlie Brucia, says something to her. She looks in his eyes, and he leads her away. And there is no apparent struggle seen on that video camera. Also on that videotape is seen a car in which she is believed to have been abducted.

Now, on the witness stand right now, if we are able to see it, is Carlie's stepfather, Steven Canstler (ph). He has been asked by prosecutors about going out to look for his stepdaughter when she went missing that day, how he couldn't find her, and eventually after police were contacted at one point, he was taken in to identify her on that surveillance camera.

Now, prosecutors have revealed that Carlie Brucia's body was so badly decomposed when she was found a few days later that an autopsy does not prove that she was sexually assaulted. They believe she was raped. They said, given all the other evidence, including Smith's DNA allegedly found on the little girl's shirt. They believe that she was raped and strangled.

Now the state says it will also prove that Smith confessed to his brother, who then led authorities to the little girl's body. Prosecutors summed it up this way:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEBRA JOHNES RIVA, PROSECUTOR: It's the state's position that the defendant used his power and control to abduct, sexually batter, and kill 11-year-old Carlie. We are asking you to hold him accountable for all of these crimes, find him guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now the defense is also raising questions about the kind of lab work that the FBI did, calling it shoddy, raising that possibility. They are also raising questions about a motive as to why the brother would have turned in his brother. They are suggesting that he was more interested in the reward money than possibly the truth.

And the defense wound up saying this to the jury:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM TEBRUGGE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: All I'm asking is this: Please keep an open mind, approach the evidence with a certain degree of skepticism, and try to take an objective look at everything. You are the first group of citizens to ever hear all of the evidence in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: This jury is made up of eight women and four men. And of course, if Smith is found guilty, he is eligible for the death penalty.

Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: Susan Candiotti in Miami, thank you for that.

Take a look at these pictures right now. We're going to show you, some progress is being made in that boat fire in Long Island, New York. Some three boats, we understand, were on fire. Now, a lot of that has been doused out. We're going to get the latest on that and bring that to you. Stay tuned. There's more LIVE FROM coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at this. This is Panama City. President Bush is there. And it's a baseball event where he is mixing it up with some baseball players from the major leagues and about 100 young players, as well. Now, earlier today in Panama, he visited a cemetery to lay a wreath in honor of the nearly 5,200 canal workers and U.S. service members buried there. But right now, it's all about baseball and these young baseball players that he's spending a little bit of time with while he is in Panama City.

Also today, the Institute for Highway Safety put minivans to its side impact test for the first time. Two models got the best rating; two models, well, they got worst. The 2006 Toyota Sienna and the Nissan Quest scored highest in their class. The 2006 Ford Freestar and Mazda MPV models, without side air bags, scored lowest. Go to money.CNN.com for the full report.

The war on drugs used to mean taking aim at cocaine, heroin, or crack. Well, these days, it's meth that's enemy number one many communities, and one of the places hardest hit by the epidemic is Tennessee. But the state is trying to fight back.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLOTTE SANDERS, RECOVERING METH ADDICT: You doing OK? You doing OK?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charlotte Sanders has been in jail before, many times, but this time, it's voluntary.

SANDERS: I'm a recovering meth addict, and I was on meth for 10 1/2 years, every day.

ARENA: She's been clean for the last three and a half years, and now, through prison ministry...

SANDERS: (INAUDIBLE). Help her, Lord.

ARENA: ... tries to help others escape the hell called meth.

SANDER: It just gets a hold on you the very first time, and nothing's going to make you feel that good, but what's so bad is, people don't understand that you can't feel as good as you did the first time you've ever tried it. You'll feel good the first time you try it, but then you're hooked.

ARENA: And Sanders was hooked bad, as was her ex-husband. She only weighed about 100 pounds, her eyes bruised from malnutrition. She still suffers seizures and has trouble with her memory, but her daughter can vividly recall what life on meth was like.

AMBER GREENLEE, SANDERS' DAUGHTER: My mom and dad, they were, like, fighting a lot, and she stabbed my dad I think four or five times with a knife. And they just, like, fought all the time. Screaming, yelling, hitting. Everything else.

ARENA: Betsy Dunn, who works for the Department of Children's Services, took Sanders' daughters away to live with their grandmother. She says the impact of adult meth use on children is devastating.

BETSY DUNN, TENN. DEPT. OF CHILDREN SERVICE: I see physical abuse. I see sexual abuse. I see children that are caring for themselves.

ARENA: Sanders, now remarried, regained custody of the girls about a year and a half ago. But in most cases, families are never reunited.

DUNN: I think it's because the parents choose the drug over their children. And that's what makes it so very, very sad, because that's not supposed to happen.

ARENA: And it's not just the emotional scarring. Anyone exposed to the toxic fumes from a meth lab can get sick. Cops who work meth cases have to be regularly checked for health abnormalities. And then there are people permanently disfigured when labs accidentally blow up.

(on camera): So most people would probably think that you'd need a pretty elaborate setup to make meth, but that's not true.

DEPUTY J.R. SCOTT, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Right. The general public, when you say laboratory, they think it's going to be extravagant, like in a professional laboratory. But everything actually that it takes can be purchased legally, and most households have it in their home. pseudoephedrine, iodine, acetone, camp fuel.

ARENA (voice-over): Deputy J.R. Scott, who works in a rural area about an hour outside of Nashville, takes this display around the state to educate kids about the dangers of meth.

SCOTT: This stuff is a demon. It's not like any other drug we've encountered. We're showing 85 percent first-time addiction rate across the nation, a 5 percent recovery rate. At that rate, we're going to lose.

ARENA: Tennessee is among the hardest hit by the spread of meth use. It was one of the first states to restrict the sale of allergy and cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine -- that's the main ingredient in meth -- keeping them behind the counter.

(on camera): Tennessee officials believe that they have turned a corner in the war on homemade meth. Authorities here in Putnam County say that they've shut down less than half the number of meth labs than they did in the same period just a year ago. But as production here declines, authorities say that imports from Mexico are on the rise.

(voice-over): Judge Seth Norman says his courtroom became a revolving door for drug abusers.

JUDGE SETH NORMAN, DAVIDSON COUNTY DRUG COURT: I got tired of seeing the same people come through my court all the time. And I figured if I could get them some treatment, maybe I wouldn't have to look at them. And it has proven true.

Michael B. (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

NORMAN: Doing good, Mike, keep at it.

ARENA: He proceeds over the nation's first live-in drug court, a rehab facility where inmates stay instead of going to a traditional prison. The judge has just agreed to accept meth patients as part of a pilot program, even though recovery rates are low.

SCOTT: They were saying the same thing about crack-cocaine. There's no doubt in my mind but what meth is worse than crack-cocaine. But I think we can find a way to help some people.

ARENA: But meth addicts can help recover. Charlotte Sanders is living proof. In her case, she credits divine intervention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Check out this new video we just got in. President Bush in Panama City. Now, he's throwing out a pitch. He's getting ready to throw it out to some of the young baseball players right there. Not too bad. Kind of a softball kind of pitch, if you'd call it that, right?

But no, that's not good enough for President Bush. He's a real athlete, and he's going to show them how much of one he is. So he says go back, get on back, keep going, I'm going to throw you a real one this time. And there he goes. See, that first one just wasn't good enough. President Bush showing that he is indeed a real athlete. And he may have hurt his arm there a little bit. He's kind of holding on to it.

But definitely we know he's a baseball fan. Used to own a stake in the Texas Rangers, and now he's going to show them how good of a pitcher he can be.

A little bit of the scene there from Panama City. That's on the heels of the Summit of the Americas that the president is wrapping up as he heads back to Washington.

In other news today, kids, do we really have to tell you not to try this at home? Yes, it may look ridiculous, and it does, but it is a dead-serious attempt at A Guinness world record. This lady became the first ever woman to blow up a hot water bottle until, well, as you saw, it blew up. And this guy pulled a car down the road with his teeth. Yes, his teeth. We assume that's his orthodontist that's in the passenger seat right there. Hundreds gathered in Germany this weekend to attempt all sorts of extreme whatever. That elusive Guinness world record brings out the extreme in people, as we well know.

So does the New York stock exchange. We'll get a business update later. Plus, there is much more LIVE FROM coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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