News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2004

U.S. Attorney and DEA Move to Seize Sailboat Formerly Owned by President Kennedy

Boston, MA... Special Agents from the DEA executed a federal Seizure Warrant today for the Star Class Sloop Sailboat once owned by President John F. Kennedy, alleging that the boat was purchased by its present owner with proceeds from marijuana distribution.

Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, announced today that a civil Seizure Warrant was executed in Marblehead where the sailboat has been stored. According to an affidavit filed in support of the Seizure Warrant, it is alleged that the Flash II, a Star Class Sloop Sailboat built in 1930, once owned by President Kennedy, and currently owned by Gregory Olaf Anderson, constitutes property derived from proceeds Anderson obtained as the result of narcotics distribution and is therefore subject to federal forfeiture.

It is alleged that a DEA-led investigation begun in February, 2004, gained information from a cooperating witness (“CW”) concerning large-scale marijuana trafficking in Massachusetts. The CW stated that in the past he/she had obtained large amounts of marijuana from suppliers in Arizona and Texas which were transported to Massachusetts for distribution.

It is alleged that CW came to know Anderson through Anderson’s brother to whom the CW had supplied wholesale quantities of marijuana in the past. It is alleged that Anderson had long been involved in the smuggling of marijuana and that sometime in 1996 used proceeds from his marijuana trafficking to purchase the sailboat that President Kennedy had once used in sailing races off of Hyannis. The Olympic class sailboat was purchased by President Kennedy and his brother Joe Kennedy in 1934. President Kennedy sold the boat in 1942 just before shipping out to the Pacific theater during World War II. It is alleged that, at Anderson’s request, the CW invested $12,000 to $15,000 to cover the purchase price and materials to repair the sailboat. It is alleged that a second unknown individual also invested a similar amount of money. According to the affidavit Anderson intended to refurbish the sailboat and sell it for a significant profit, (as much as $1 to $1.2 million), based on its association with President Kennedy and its historical value. According to the affidavit the CW and the second investor were each to receive 20% of the profit.

According to the affidavit, sometime in 2001 the CW hired Anderson to be a transporter of marijuana from Arizona to Massachusetts; paying Anderson between $40,000 to $50,000 per load delivered. In 2001, Anderson was arrested and ultimately sentenced to serve a year and a half in Arizona state prison for a conviction relating to transporting approximately 1,300 pounds of the CW’s marijuana. It is alleged that in exchange for Anderson “keeping silent” about the CW’s role in the marijuana distribution, the CW agreed to give up his 20% stake in the Kennedy sailboat as well as give Anderson another $40,000 and pay for his legal representation.

It is alleged that after serving the Arizona state prison sentence, Anderson contacted the CW to discuss starting up another marijuana trafficking business. It is alleged that in subsequent conversations and as recently as September of this year, Anderson stated that he was preparing to take the Kennedy sailboat out of storage in Marblehead to ready it for sale. The investigation is continuing.

The case is being investigated by members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Cross Borders Initiative Task Force in Lowell, Massachusetts, including the Massachusetts State Police, the Haverhill Police Department, the Salem, New Hampshire Police Department and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.