Louis Diaz
Louis "Lou" Diaz
Born(c. 1947)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materQueens College, New York
OccupationRetired
Years active1974 - 1996
OrganizationDrug Enforcement Administration
AgentDEA Agent
AwardsAdministrators DEA Distinguished Service Award
Sustained Superior Performance
Excellence of Performance Awards
NYPD Legion of Honor
Military career
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1964 - 1966
RankSpecialist 4th Class (Corporal).
Unit3rd Armored Division
Other workAuthor

Louis "Lou" Diaz (born c. 1947) is an American former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who was largely responsible for the arrest and conviction of New York drug kingpin Nicky Barnes. He was also instrumental in dismantling "The Council," Barnes's drug trafficking organization. As an undercover agent, he also brought down members of the Medellin Cartel. Diaz is also an author and actor.[1][2]

Biography

Diaz was born in New York City and grew up in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He is the son of Spanish parents from the north of Spain.[3] Diaz attended Most Holy Trinity High School in Brooklyn. After he graduated, he studied at St. Francis College, also in Brooklyn and at Queens College in Queens, New York, where he received his B.A. degree.[4] In 1964, Diaz was a welterweight boxing finalist in the New York Daily News Golden Gloves.

Diaz served in the United States Army. He was stationed in Germany where, as an amateur boxer, he won the 3rd Armored Division's middleweight championship.

In 1971, Diaz was hired by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) where he served as an undercover agent. While at ATF, Diaz made many high-profile gun cases and arrested many organized crime members.

In 1975, Diaz was hired by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) in New York City where he served 28 years as a special agent, 22 of which were spent working in an extensive undercover capacity.[5][4]

Nicky Barnes organization investigation

In 1975, Diaz's talents as an undercover agent caught the attention of his DEA superiors who assigned Diaz to the Nicky Barnes investigation. During the course of this investigation, Diaz infiltrated the Barnes organization at its highest levels, purchasing heroin and laundering money for Barnes' immediate subordinates and obtaining direct evidence against Barnes himself. Diaz spent one year around Barnes and his associates. Barnes was subsequently arrested and convicted on a myriad of drug charges including conspiracy. Barnes was sentenced to a life in prison without possibility of parole.[6] Diaz was also largely responsible for "taking down" all of the primary members of Barnes' drug trafficking organization known as the "Council".

This case involved the direct intervention of President Carter who ordered the then U.S. Attorney General, Griffin Bell, to see that Barnes was tried and convicted to the full extent of the law. The Barnes case was the first federal trial in the United States in which an anonymous jury was impaneled because of Barnes' reputation to coerce or bribe the witnesses.[5][4]

Operation Henry

In 1982, Diaz was then involved in Operation Henry, an undercover investigation. Diaz and his partner worked with members of Scotland Yard in London in pursuit of a gang of British criminals who were involved in the sale and distribution of large quantities of heroin. During the course of this investigation, Diaz and his partner negotiated the sale of forty kilos of heroin with Ron Leslie, the principal subject.

Leslie was responsible for the escape of Ronald Biggs from Wandsworth Prison.[7] Biggs was one of the gang responsible for the 2.6 million pound Great Train Robbery in 1963. This case was the first time that DEA agents served as agent provocateurs for a country other than the United States. Subsequent to the arrest of Leslie, British authorities seized the 40 kilos of heroin.[5][4][8]

Operation Pisces

In 1986, Diaz was one of the principal undercover agents in Operation Pisces, an international operation involving Colombia and Panama. During the course of the investigation, Diaz laundered over 50 million dollars for members of the Medellin cartel including Jose Lopez and Alfonso Reyes, who were close associates of Pablo Escobar. Lopez and Reyes were subsequently arrested in a major dragnet which saw the arrest of over 350 defendants nationwide and the seizure of over 9 tons of cocaine and over 100 million dollars in cash and assets. According to the former U.S. Attorney General, Edwin Meese, Operation Pisces remains the largest most successful undercover drug investigation in the history of the United States.[9][5][8][10]

Operation Blast Furnace

In 1988, the United States government, along with Victor Paz Estenssoro's government in Bolivia, launched Operation Blast Furnace, whose mission was to eradicate Bolivia's illegal coca producing fields and clandestine cocaine-producing laboratories located in the Chupari and Bene jungle regions.[11] Diaz was a major participant. He flew 26 missions with the 210th combat air-wing out of Panama. Together with members of the 210th, he helped identify and destroy 16 clandestine cocaine laboratories.[5][4][8][10]

Acting career

Diaz, whose nickname while in the DEA was "Louie the actor", embarked on an acting career after his days as a DEA agent were over. He chose the stage name "Lou Casal".[11] He participated in over twenty major TV series, several Hollywood plays and movies.[12][8] Diaz was featured in the documentary where he talked about growing up and how his relationship with his father influenced his life. His TV and movie credits are:[12][2]

  1. Lands End, co-star
  2. NYPD Blue, co-star
  3. Pretender, star
  4. Las Vegas, co-star
  5. Fairly Legal, co-star
  6. V.I.P., recurring role
  7. Robbery Homicide, co-star
  8. Time of your Life, co-star
  9. LA Heat, co-star
  10. Arliss, co-star
  11. Kingpin, recurring role
  12. Sabrina, co-star
  13. Dangerous Waters, co-star
  14. Down and Dirty, featured
  15. Ripple, star
  16. With friends like these, featured
  17. Pure Danger, co-star
  18. For which he stands, featured
  19. Hitman's Run, featured

Theater:

  1. The Andersonville Trial, Brooklyn Hall Academy Theater
  2. Detective Story, Marilyn Monroe Theater, Hollywood
  3. View from the Bridge, Marilyn Monroe Theater, Hollywood

Written work

Diaz wrote the book Dancing with the Devil: Confessions of an Undercover Agent, published in 2010 by Simon and Schuster's digital book department.[13]

Legacy

In 1985, Diaz became the first federal agent from the DEA to be inducted into the NYPD Honor Legion as a full member. The Honor Legion was conceived and formed in January 1912 by Patrolman John W. Frazer. Membership normally requires that the officer be an "Honor Man", a sobriquet given to an officer who has previously been awarded a medal, typically on the occasion of the Annual Police Parade.[14] Diaz was also the New York State Police and international police middleweight boxing champion.[5][8][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "'Fairly Legal' star Louie Diaz goes from perps to parts". NY Daily News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Lou Casal", IMDb
  3. ↑ Martinez, Al (23 April 1996). "Louie the Actor Is Back". Los Angeles Times.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Jack Murphy, "A Cop Who Busts Drug Dealers Jaws", San Diego Union, 27 August 1978.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nathan M. Adams, "Target: Mr. Untouchable", Reader's Digest, June 1978
  6. ↑ Roberts, Sam (2019-06-08). "Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. Untouchable' of Heroin Dealers, Is Dead at 78". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  7. ↑ Lee Sturley, The Secret Train Robber: The Real Great Train Robbery Mastermind Revealed, Ebury Press, Reprint edition (2016) ISBN 9781785030147
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Barry Koltnow, "A tough guy for hire", The Orange County Register, 27 March 2011
  9. ↑ "Convicted Drug dealer sought in murder investigation". Sun-Sentinel. 10 April 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 Miles Beller, "A life in crime – fighting it that is", Los Angeles Times, 18 December 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Bolivia, With U.S. Aid, Battles Cocaine at the Root". The New York Times. 17 April 1988.
  12. 1 2 Al Martinez, "Louie the Actor Is Back", Los Angeles Times, 27 April 2004
  13. ↑ Diaz, Louis; Hirschfeld, Neal (7 December 2010). Dancing with the Devil: Confessions of an Undercover Agent. Pocket Books – via Amazon.
  14. ↑ THE HISTORY OF POLICING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
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