TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS RELATED TO DANILO BLANDON
Appendix E

DATE -- EVENT

1951 -- Blandon born in Nicaragua.

June 1979 -- Blandon flees Nicaragua with his family to the United States, and moves to Los Angeles.

February 1980 -- Blandon applies for political asylum in the United States.

1980 or 1981 -- Blandon attends meetings of Contra support group in Los Angeles.

1982 -- Blandon meets Meneses, who asks Blandon to sell drugs, with the profits going to the Contras.

1983 -- Blandon breaks with Meneses and continues selling drugs for his own profit.

Late 1983 or 1984 -- Blandon starts selling cocaine to Ricky Ross.

August 1985 -- Blandon's asylum request is granted.

July 1986 -- Meneses approaches Costa Rica DEA and offers to cooperate.
July 1986 -- Confidential informant provides information to FBI Riverside about Blandon's drug trafficking organization.

September 1986 -- Confidential informant provides information to DEA Riverside about Blandon's drug trafficking organization. The DEA opens a case targeting "Blandon, and his associates and sources of supply."

September 1986 -- Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) opens an investigation against the Blandon organization based on informant information.

October 1986 -- LASD, FBI, and DEA exchange information about Blandon's organization and conduct surveillances.

October 27, 1986 -- LASD executes search warrants on residences and businesses of Blandon and his associates, seizing records but negligible amount of drugs.

October 31 to November 3, 1986 -- FBI and DEA copy records seized by LASD during searches.

November 10, 1986 -- Riverside FBI initiates a case on Blandon, Lister, Meneses, and 1986 their associates.

November 1986 -- Based on Ronald Lister's statements about alleged connections to CIA during the October searches, FBI asks CIA if it has operational interest in Lister, Blandon, Meneses, and others in Blandon organization.

December 1986 -- CIA responds to FBI's inquiry about subjects of investigation, stating they had little information on them, and no information on Blandon or Lister

December 1986 -- FBI and DEA continue investigation of Blandon and prepare submission of case to federal OCDETF committee in Los Angeles for designation as a federal task force case.

December 22, 1986 -- Meneses and DEA informant travel to Los Angeles on behalf of DEA to engage in undercover meetings with drug dealers.

January 1987 -- Meneses and DEA informant meet undercover with Blandon and associates.

January 14, 1987 -- FBI and DEA debrief DEA informant in Los Angeles. Later, DEA informant and Meneses return to Costa Rica.
January 14, 1987 -- FBI, DEA, and LASD meet with Los Angeles District Attorney's office about case against Blandon. Agreement that case should be pursued by federal authorities.

January 21, 1987 -- Blandon case formally accepted as a federal OCDETF task force case in Los Angeles.

February 1987 -- San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) and San Francisco FBI agree to defer prosecution of Meneses in San Francisco for drug trafficking, pending the outcome of the Los Angeles OCDETF investigation of the Blandon organization.

March-July 1987 -- OCDETF investigators attempt to get Meneses and DEA informant to return to the United States to work on the Blandon investigation.

May 1987 -- Blandon relocates to Miami, Florida.

July 1987 -- DEA informant returns to Los Angeles and meets with DEA and FBI OCDETF investigators, but informant refuses to testify.

July 17, 1987 -- Los Angeles USAO declines prosecution in the OCDETF case because of inability of investigative techniques to adequately prove criminal violations.

July 24, 1987 -- DEA Costa Rica formally establishes Meneses as a DEA informant.

September 1988 -- Blandon applies for Legal Permanent Residence (LPR) status in the United States.

1990 -- Blandon returns to Los Angeles and engages in drug dealing there.

December 1990 -- OCDETF case opened against Blandon in San Diego.

1991 -- Blandon moves to San Diego.

August 26, 1991 -- In a random search of southbound cars crossing the border, U.S. Customs in San Diego arrests Blandon and companion with undeclared currency. Blandon is not charged.
December 9, 1991 -- Los Angeles Police Department arrests Blandon with a large amount of cash, but drops the money laundering charges against him because of the ongoing San Diego OCDETF investigation.

May 5, 1992 -- Blandon is indicted by federal grand jury in San Diego on drug conspiracy charges as a result of the San Diego OCDETF investigation.

May 15, 1992 -- DEA arrests Blandon on the federal indictment. Blandon is held without bail, and several weeks later, Blandon begins to cooperate with DEA.

October 13, 1992 -- Blandon enters into a plea agreement with the government.

November 1992 -- Blandon's wife and daughter receive legal permanent resident status.

December 20, 1993 -- Blandon receives a reduced sentence of 48 months and 5 years probation based on his substantial assistance to the government.

September 1994 -- San Diego USAO files a motion asking the court to reduce Blandon's sentence further based on his continued cooperation. The court reduces Blandon's sentence to time served, and Blandon is released after having served 28½ months in prison.

October 1, 1994 -- Blandon receives legal permanent resident status from the INS.

March 1995 -- Ricky Ross is arrested by DEA in San Diego after selling drugs to Blandon and an undercover DEA officer.

August 1996 -- Publication of San Jose Mercury News articles.

December 1996 I-- NS moves to rescind Blandon's LPR status.