 Loren
Pogue
age 63; serving 22 years for conspiracy to
import drugs and money laundering
"It takes only two hours to
destroy your life"
Since his
incarceration, Loren has received a doctorate degree in
religious education from the American Bible College. He
won't be released until 2009.
Helping his part-time employee close a sale of land in
Costa Rica has sent Loren Pogue, real estate agent,
missionary, former serviceman, Mason, Shriner, Lions Club
Member, American Legion, VFW, and past Director of
Children's Home, to prison for 22 years. He was victim to a
reverse sting operation.
As it turned out, his employee was a paid recipient of
$250,000 of government informant money. The informant
pleaded with Loren to help him sell a plot of land on a
Costa Rican mountainside to a group posing as "investors" -
in reality, they were undercover agents who were shopping
for a place to put an airstrip.
That Pogue had no drug history; that the airstrip was
never built; and that, even if built, it would be useless
because of its location; none of this played any part in the
court's decision. Pogue never saw nor spoke with the
undercover agents prior to the one meeting he had
with them.
Loren has 15 adopted children. He went "from a
happy, joyful life in a two hour meeting to pain, hurt and
suffering." His family cannot afford to visit him as he is
being held 1500 miles away.
"There were no drugs involved. The government agents
said they were going to fly 1000 kilos of drugs into the
U.S. and that is what I was sentenced on."
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