Is my neighbor a contract killer?: Phuket Special Report

[webfact]

Special Report: Is my neighbor a contract killer?
Phuket Gazette


Joseph “Rambo” Hunter kept a low profile in Phuket, doing little that was out of the ordinary. Photo: Reuters

Special Report:

PHUKET: -- Soldiers and other security personnel arriving on the island to enjoy R&R leave or even to retire in the sun is nothing new to Phuket, but the arrest of ex-US soldier Joseph “Rambo” Hunter this past week has raised the ugly question: Do you know who your neighbors really are?

Hunter lived the quiet life in Phuket. He did not venture out often, instead choosing to stay at his rented villa beside the Loch Palm Golf Course with the curtains closed.

Staff at the Garden Villas Baan Suan Loch Palm housing estate said his only request was that the maid clean his villa once a week – not twice a week, like other tenants preferred – and only while he kept a close eye on the cleaner.

Other than that, he was the ideal tenant.

“He always paid the rent – about 70,000 baht per month – on time. He never made loud noise or disturbed his neighbors. He always behaved and stayed quiet,” an estate staffer told the Phuket Gazette.

“He rented the villa in April and lived alone most of the time. Sometimes a Filipino lady visited him. She is about 20 years old and stayed five to six days at a time, then went away for two weeks and came back again. It always happened this way,” another estate staffer explained.

Hunter was not a member at the neighboring golf club, nor did he use the clubhouse facilities.

The Gazette received no reports of Hunter being involved in any altercations in bars, and despite his long career as a marksman, he was not known at any of the popular shooting ranges, either by the name Hunter or by his known aliases Frank Robinson or Jim Riker.

He simply kept a low profile, perhaps not surprising given the circumstances.

A security guard at the gate to the housing estate even described Hunter as an amiable fellow.

“We never spoke in depth about anything. We only smiled at each other. Sometimes I said ‘Sawasdee krab’ and he said ‘Hi’ back, but we never had a conversation,” he explained.

“Most of the time he rode out on one of his two big bikes and returned about 30 minutes later carrying 7-Eleven bags,” the guard added.

What is known about Hunter’s movements in Phuket was that he frequently visited “friends” at another house in the estate.

“Often, during the day, he took a short walk to his friends’ house, where about five people are staying. I always saw him walk to their house, but I never saw them visit him,” another guard said.

The “friends” were questioned by police, but later released after investigating officers were confident the five had no idea of Hunter’s chosen profession as a drug smuggler and leader of an international team of assassins.

“We have always checked prospective tenants’ backgrounds carefully before letting them rent a house,” said one of the management team at the estate.

“We asked to see their passport and visa, and checked with immigration to make sure they were legal and not wanted for any crimes. Now, we have to be even more careful,” he said.

HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Whether a background check on the likes of Hunter would have revealed anything untoward remains unlikely.

Like many other expats in Phuket, on paper, Hunter was no more alarming than any other retired servicemen who have chosen Thailand as their new home.

Hunter joined the US Army in 1983. He led air assault and airborne infantry squads, served as a sniper instructor and trained soldiers in marksmanship and tactics as a senior drill sergeant before he left the service in 2004.

Despite more than two decades as a soldier, however, the highest rank he attained was sergeant first class.

Leaving the soldier’s life behind likely brought its own problems. Hunter was arrested late on May 17, 2008 in his hometown Owensboro, Kentucky, after police were called to the 3000 block of Asbury Place for a disturbance call.

Police say when they arrived, Hunter began yelling and cussing at officers.

He was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Hunter was booked in the county detention center in the early hours of May 18 and had a US$1,000 bond, reported local news syndicate 14 WFIE.

But the charges that Hunter now faces allege that he soon embarked on a long career as “security personnel” for drug cartels, picking up “bonus work” as a contract killer on the side.

More disturbingly for most Phuket residents, though, was that Hunter revealed to undercover DEA agents that he had arranged for two female real estate agents to be killed.

Where and when those murders took place have not been disclosed by the authorities.

The question whether Hunter and his elite hit squad ever met in Phuket also remains unanswered, though General Preawphan Damapong, the assistant police commissioner in charge of national drug suppression, who led the officers in arresting Hunter, confirmed that five other suspects in the case were being detained in Thailand.

Again, no details have been released regarding those arrests.

COSTA DEL CRIME

The tendency of international criminals to call Phuket home seems to be growing.

Dave Allen, head of the fugitives unit at the UK’s Serious Organised Crimes Agency (SOCA), says Thailand is high on the list as the destination of choice among international criminals.

“The attraction for Spain [among British criminals] is still there, as there is a huge expat British population,” he told The Guardian earlier this year.

But some are now looking further afield: “The places we’re seeing them go to now are Thailand, certainly, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates,” Mr Allen said.

Meanwhile, famed ex-con-cum-criminal lawyer Jason Coghlan, who has long served international fugitives living on Spain’s Costa del Sol, is now setting up a Bangkok office.

Mr Coghlan, a former armed robber from Manchester who served time at the British detention facility Strangeways, runs the law firm JaCogLaw in Marbella.

He now says that Spain is off the list as the international fugitives’ ultimate getaway.

“If you’re a villain on the run in Spain, you’re just in a queue waiting to get nicked. What a lot of them don’t realize is that the Spanish police can even trace where your emails are coming from.

“Being on the run is no life – and it’s no life for the family of someone on the run. Some of them think that, with the passage of time, their sentences will be reduced. But the sentences don’t go away,” he said.

While such advice may encourage more criminals to flee to Asia, the Thai authorities are doing their best to deter undesirables from reaching these shores.

ACT OF JUSTICE

The arrest of Hunter and the five other suspects in Phuket came just one day after the Prevention and Suppression of Transnational Organized Crime Act was enacted in Thailand.

“The act came into effect very recently – on September 24 – and with this act, officers tackling transnational crime cases now have the right to conduct searches without having to wait for a court to issue a search warrant,” said Deputy Commissioner General Chongrak Chutanon.

However, law-enforcement officers are still required to present their ID and documentation showing that they have reason to suspect the individual and carry out the search.

“This new Act will make our work easier and life for international criminals and fugitives more difficult, as they will have less time to flee the long hand of the law,” Lt Gen Chongrak said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Special-Report-Is-my-neighbor-a-contract-killer-22428.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-10-05

[JetsetBkk]

You lookin' at me?

[NamKangMan]

You lookin' at me?

You talkin' to me?

[stevenl]

You never know who your neighbour is, he could also be a non contract killer who killed his former girlfriend.

[NamKangMan]

You never know who your neighbour is, he could also be a non contract killer who killed his former girlfriend.

Or, the Thai girlfriend kills him, after he puts everything in her name.

Over the balcony is the prefered method these days.

[Credo]

My neighbors are too lazy to be criminals. They would send the maid to do the hit.

This story, however, does remind me to be a little more polite to people in general. You just never know who or what you are dealing with.

[clockman]

Knowing the law here can be bought, Then Thailand is perfect for criminals to operate from!

[Lancelot]

OT but this snipet Despite more than two decades as a soldier, however, the highest rank he attained was sergeant first class. Is a bit misleading. Sergeant First Class is pay grade E-7. There are nine enlisted personnel pay grade (E-1 to E9) so his rank at the time of discharge was normal, not exceptional but far from substandard.

[GeorgeO]

And is this not the same anywhere in the world? Scum like Sutcliffe and Hyndley had neighbours in the UK, but no-one could have ever suspected what they were getting up to ....!!

[Marcel1]

True, same o same o in many countries. Was reading the Dutch news last week and there were 2 italian highly wanted killer mafiosi arrested who were living a easy quiet live in Holland which doesnt seem to be like the perfect getaway either

[sunshine51]

I guess him & his bunch would have stood out big time in Somalia.

[unanimosity]

OT but this snipet Despite more than two decades as a soldier, however, the highest rank he attained was sergeant first class. Is a bit misleading. Sergeant First Class is pay grade E-7. There are nine enlisted personnel pay grade (E-1 to E9) so his rank at the time of discharge was normal, not exceptional but far from substandard.

Whether or not it was substandard depends on your perspective, ambition, and intelligence.

Speaking from experience and having reached buck sergeant, E5, in 21 months--and that after intentionally being recycled through basic for 4 months instead of 2 (making it 16 months actual time from pfc. to buck sergeant)--retiring after 20 years as E6 seems most definitely substandard, although not unusual. And that may in fact be what you mean, since plenty of EMs retire at E6 if they are uneducated and unmotivated.

The first clue to underperformance and lack of ambition is being assigned as a drill instructor late in a career. All it requires is an ability to wake up early and yell profanities.

[Zumteufel]

You never know who your neighbour is, he could also be a non contract killer who killed his former girlfriend.

Or, he could be the most boring person in the world, whose idea of a good time is a game of Scrabble - or two, if things has to go a bit crazy.

You'll never know.

[RefinedGentleman]

OT but this snipet Despite more than two decades as a soldier, however, the highest rank he attained was sergeant first class. Is a bit misleading. Sergeant First Class is pay grade E-7. There are nine enlisted personnel pay grade (E-1 to E9) so his rank at the time of discharge was normal, not exceptional but far from substandard.

Whether or not it was substandard depends on your perspective, ambition, and intelligence.

Speaking from experience and having reached buck sergeant, E5, in 21 months--and that after intentionally being recycled through basic for 4 months instead of 2 (making it 16 months actual time from pfc. to buck sergeant)--retiring after 20 years as E6 seems most definitely substandard, although not unusual. And that may in fact be what you mean, since plenty of EMs retire at E6 if they are uneducated and unmotivated.

The first clue to underperformance and lack of ambition is being assigned as a drill instructor late in a career. All it requires is an ability to wake up early and yell profanities.

Why in the world would you intentionally go through basic twice?

[Phronesis]

Shameless trial by media.

The headline should read:

Is my neighbor an ALLEGED contract killer.

Someone please shown me one shred of evidence that this guy has been FOUND GUILTY of anything more serious then "Cussing" at some cops...

[Andre0720]

Police are not using the correct terminology.

Thank God the lawyers are...

[unanimosity]

OT but this snipet Despite more than two decades as a soldier, however, the highest rank he attained was sergeant first class. Is a bit misleading. Sergeant First Class is pay grade E-7. There are nine enlisted personnel pay grade (E-1 to E9) so his rank at the time of discharge was normal, not exceptional but far from substandard.

Whether or not it was substandard depends on your perspective, ambition, and intelligence.

Speaking from experience and having reached buck sergeant, E5, in 21 months--and that after intentionally being recycled through basic for 4 months instead of 2 (making it 16 months actual time from pfc. to buck sergeant)--retiring after 20 years as E6 seems most definitely substandard, although not unusual. And that may in fact be what you mean, since plenty of EMs retire at E6 if they are uneducated and unmotivated.

The first clue to underperformance and lack of ambition is being assigned as a drill instructor late in a career. All it requires is an ability to wake up early and yell profanities.

Why in the world would you intentionally go through basic twice?

A congressman followed up on reports of unauthorized procedures in basic to include forcing a GI with back problems to pack up an entire locker and footlocker and carry them to the supply room in order to have permission to see a doctor.

A CI (Congressional Investigation) ensued and the commanding officer and company sergeant major lost their command and their parting shot was to issue recycle orders.

A choice was then presented--since all training obligations had been met--to have the recycle orders rescinded, or to spend two more months in basic as an advisor with special privileges, such as having a private room with a locking door and exemption from repeating much of the training regimen.

Opting to repeat basic was choosing a known entity and offered some control over the timing of deployment overseas.

[Colabamumbai]

It appears that they really did not have much on this guy at all.

It was the police who contacted him, set him up for a hit, to give the Thai Police justification to arrest him and to really give the police another excuse in case the other charges would not stick.

And last year wasen't his name Victor, had to set him up in a Bangkok hotel room, to have him arrested here to be extradited to the U.S.

[tonneke breda]

He should curse himself for admitting 2 murders on real-estate agents, reading the story about the taxi driver who got suspended sentence for being a first time offender on several counts

[pgrahmm]

Waste of time......

[hawker9000]

It appears that they really did not have much on this guy at all.

It was the police who contacted him, set him up for a hit, to give the Thai Police justification to arrest him and to really give the police another excuse in case the other charges would not stick.

And last year wasen't his name Victor, had to set him up in a Bangkok hotel room, to have him arrested here to be extradited to the U.S.

Wait a minute there... Appears FROM WHAT ("that they really didn't have much...")? Enlighten us please. Was the DEA connection just a fiction?

[pgrahmm]

Well - since I'm not allowed to edit - there are a lot of special forces retiries here.....some tend to "brag/invent their own history" - until there is substantial proof that, in FACT, this is true - - - - don't waste your time speculating.....

Hopefully, the facts will sort themselves out and justice will be served.....

Sorry if I offended any of the TV "special investigators".....who should have better things to do with their days.....(enjoy the nights though).....

[kevinc]

This is interesting....

Joseph 'Rambo' Hunter: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

[Emdog]

"The tendency of international criminals to call Phuket home seems to be growing." Somebody needs to tell these guys that those jobs are reserved for Thai nationals only! Hmmmm so get your place cleaned once a week, have a girl younger than you over about 1/3 of the time, say "Hi" to security guard..... if you meet anyone that fits this profile, call the FBI. Even if it happens to be yourself. Never know when you might snap!

[hawker9000]

Well - since I'm not allowed to edit - there are a lot of special forces retiries here.....some tend to "brag/invent their own history" - until there is substantial proof that, in FACT, this is true - - - - don't waste your time speculating.....

Hopefully, the facts will sort themselves out and justice will be served.....

Sorry if I offended any of the TV "special investigators".....who should have better things to do with their days.....(enjoy the nights though).....

Weird. What in the world are you babbling about? But I agree, some people have too much time on their hands...

[transam]

And for sure, do not think a ''hitman, eeeeeerr nutter'' is a muscle bound coloured green guy. Noooooooo.

Look at me............

[IrishIvan]

So the guy gets offered 850,000 US dollars to knock someone. And then gets arrested by American agents. Does anyone else find this ironic?

How much do you think the American government paid to train this guy? I mean he was at the top of his game and if he was in the Army for 20 years then we can safely say he was paid millions of dollars to snipe people. And then he does a solo job for someone else, he declared an is an assassin? He was an assassin the day he signed up to Uncle Sam.

To me its like giving a pitbull electric shocks on a daily basis and then when it bites someone everyone puts it on par with a baby killer

[transam]

So the guy gets offered 850,000 US dollars to knock someone. And then gets arrested by American agents. Does anyone else find this ironic?

How much do you think the American government paid to train this guy? I mean he was at the top of his game and if he was in the Army for 20 years then we can safely say he was paid millions of dollars to snipe people. And then he does a solo job for someone else, he declared an is an assassin? He was an assassin the day he signed up to Uncle Sam.

To me its like giving a pitbull electric shocks on a daily basis and then when it bites someone everyone puts it on par with a baby killer

Why do you say a trained military guy was paid millions of $$$$. ?

[IrishIvan]

So the guy gets offered 850,000 US dollars to knock someone. And then gets arrested by American agents. Does anyone else find this ironic?

How much do you think the American government paid to train this guy? I mean he was at the top of his game and if he was in the Army for 20 years then we can safely say he was paid millions of dollars to snipe people. And then he does a solo job for someone else,  he declared an is an assassin? He was an assassin the day he signed up to Uncle Sam.

To me its like giving a pitbull electric shocks on a daily basis and then when it bites someone everyone puts it on par with a baby killer

 

Why do you say a trained military guy was paid millions of $$$$. ?

 

20 years of service x 70, 000 bucks a year salary. Do the math. Also consider all his weapons and extra training.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[transam]

So the guy gets offered 850,000 US dollars to knock someone. And then gets arrested by American agents. Does anyone else find this ironic?

How much do you think the American government paid to train this guy? I mean he was at the top of his game and if he was in the Army for 20 years then we can safely say he was paid millions of dollars to snipe people. And then he does a solo job for someone else, he declared an is an assassin? He was an assassin the day he signed up to Uncle Sam.

To me its like giving a pitbull electric shocks on a daily basis and then when it bites someone everyone puts it on par with a baby killer

Why do you say a trained military guy was paid millions of $$$$. ?

20 years of service x 70, 000 bucks a year salary. Do the math. Also consider all his weapons and extra training.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Don't care how much a guy earns a year to do a job, thats for his life. You consider how much a PC wizard earns a year.