Customs Inspector Arraigned On Bribery Charge Indictment Spells Out Three Other Charges In Alleged Incidents At Okanogan County Border Crossing

A federal law enforcement officer was arraigned Thursday in Spokane on charges of accepting a bribe and smuggling while working at a lonely U.S. border crossing.

The case involves outlaw motorcycle gangs illegally smuggling drugs into the United States, according to authorities familiar with a 16-month-long probe.

James Bryan Peterson, 53, who has been a U.S. Customs inspector for eight years, faces a four-count indictment that was returned Wednesday in Spokane by a federal grand jury.

Peterson was arrested a short time later at the U.S. Customs office in Oroville, Wash., after being on paid administrative leave for several weeks.

He is charged with two counts of failing to collect duties on imported goods or merchandise.

He also is accused of illegally smuggling rose bushes into the United States from Canada.

In the fourth and most serious count, Peterson is accused of being a public official accepting a bribe. A conviction for that could bring a maximum of 15 years in prison.

The indictment accuses Peterson of accepting a Miller Dynasty two-piece welder - a tool worth $5,400 - in exchange for allowing a truckload of the welders into the United States without import tariffs last June.

The alleged illegal activities occurred at the Nighthawk Port of Entry in Okanogan County, near Oroville.

The port of entry is open only during the day and is staffed by only one inspector.

Authorities say the case has no connection to the smuggling from Canada of bomb-making components by a suspected terrorist arrested in December in Western Washington.

The bribe Peterson is accused of accepting came from a confidential informant working for the U.S. Customs Service’s Office of Internal Affairs, court documents say.

Customs agents began their lengthy investigation after learning that members of outlaw motorcycle gangs were smuggling drugs near the border crossing, authorities say.

“Although he’s not charged with it, this case does involve controlled substances,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks said in court.

Afterward, the federal prosecutor declined further comment. But others familiar with the investigation say it involves bikers, drug-running and bribes.

Another federal law enforcement official who worked at the Nighthawk station was arrested in January 1994 and later convicted of accepting bribes.

Roderick Neil MacKenzie, who was an inspector for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service at Nighthawk, admitted accepting marijuana in exchange for allowing shipments of the drug to illegally enter the United States.

After MacKenzie’s arrest and conviction, the Customs Service and INS, which jointly control border operations, began rotating border agents at the Nighthawk port.

Peterson moved into the government-owned house at Nighthawk, where MacKenzie lived, and the two apparently knew each other, authorities say.

Peterson, a single parent who lives with his 17-year-old son, is being evicted from the government home and now faces dismissal from the Customs Service.

The roses he’s accused of smuggling into the United States couldn’t legally be imported because of agricultural restrictions.

Deputy Federal Defender Roger Peven was appointed to represent Peterson at Thursday’s hearing.

“I don’t know much about him yet,” Peven said. “But this close to Valentine’s Day, can you believe they’re indicting somebody for allowing rose bushes to come into the United States?”