Credibility of admitted drug smuggler and thief on trial in Puffinburger case

By cooperating in the investigation of his grandson's Las Vegas kidnapping, Clemens Tinnemeyer stands to reduce his prison sentence in a related drug case from about 20 years to less than five years.

Those details from the man's sealed plea agreement were made public Friday during his second day on the witness stand. In two days of testimony, Tinnemeyer denied knowing the details of his deal with federal prosecutors.

"They never promised me anything," he said Friday.

Tinnemeyer, 54, pleaded guilty in February 2009 to conspiracy to transport cocaine. Defense attorneys continued to attack his credibility Friday by questioning him about the plea deal, which he signed.

The witness has backed the government's theory that his grandson, Cole Puffinburger, 6, was kidnapped as revenge after he stole $4.5 million in drug money. Defense attorneys have suggested Tinnemeyer helped friends and relatives stage the kidnapping to divert attention from himself and his hidden cash.

Attorney Robert Draskovich Jr. reminded Tinnemeyer on Friday that U.S. District Judge Robert Jones reviewed the 12-page plea agreement with him "page by page and line by line" during the plea hearing.

Draskovich said the document outlines several sentence reductions cutting the defendant's potential prison time to as little as 57 months. It also outlines the government's promise to request a lesser sentence if Tinnemeyer provides "substantial assistance" in the kidnapping and drug case.

"They just told me, just tell my story," the witness said.

Tinnemeyer has admitted stealing millions of dollars from the drug cartel that employed him as a smuggler. Prosecutors claim that decision led to the Oct. 15, 2008, kidnapping of his grandson.

"You're telling the government's truth, aren't you?" Draskovich asked Tinnemeyer on Friday.

The witness admitted he initially lied to investigators, telling them he had spent all the money. On Friday, he said, "I'm just doing the right thing, telling my story -- the truth."

Tinnemeyer has been in custody since he surrendered on Oct. 17, 2008.

Prosecutors say Jose Lopez-Buelna and Luis Vega-Rubio kidnapped Cole from his Las Vegas home as revenge after Tinnemeyer ran off with the drug cartel's money. The boy was released unharmed near downtown Las Vegas three days later.

Defense lawyers have accused Cole's family and friends of staging the kidnapping to lure Tinnemeyer back to Las Vegas with as much as $8 million in stolen drug cash.

Tinnemeyer denied that he or anyone else in his family played a role in Cole's disappearance. He denied ever telling anyone he had $8 million. He said authorities found all the remaining drug money, $3.5 million, in a storage unit in Riverside, Calif., the day after he surrendered.

Draskovich, who represents Lopez-Buelna, asked Tinnemeyer why he failed to inform investigators about the hidden cash when they told him they needed it for ransom money.

"You weren't worried about a ransom because Cole hadn't been kidnapped by the Mexican mafia, had he?" the defense lawyer asked.

Tinnemeyer disagreed.

Draskovich reminded the witness that he stayed away from his family for months because he believed his former boss, Lopez-Buelna, was looking for him and the stolen money.

"Now, as a result of this staged kidnapping, he's in custody, isn't he?" the defense lawyer asked.

"I don't know what you mean by 'staged kidnapping,' " Tinnemeyer replied.

Defense attorney Todd Leventhal, who represents Vega-Rubio, asked Tinnemeyer why he failed to tell investigators the last name of his friend Roger "Country" Rice.

Tinnemeyer told investigators he did not know Roger's last name and said, "I don't think he could help you much."

"You were protecting Roger weren't you?" Leventhal asked.

"For what?" the witness responded.

Tinnemeyer later said he did not think Rice, who once lived in a recording studio at Tinnemeyer's Las Vegas home, had any information about Cole's kidnapping.

Leventhal asked Tinnemeyer whether he knew that his daughter, Julie Puffinburger, had testified earlier in the trial and shared her belief that Rice had started a rumor in August 2008 that her son had been kidnapped. Tinnemeyer said he knew nothing about the ruse.

Defense lawyers also asked Tinnemeyer why he waited a year to tell investigators that he and his girlfriend, Terri Leavy, had been kidnapped by her former brother-in-law and others about two weeks before Cole disappeared.

Tinnemeyer testified that the couple were hogtied and tortured in Southern California by three men, including the former brother-in-law, who wanted their money. The couple refused to disclose the location of the cash and were released 10 to 12 hours later, the witness said.

Draskovich said Tinnemeyer was covering for his girlfriend's family then and is covering for his own family now.

"No," the witness said, shaking his head.

Tinnemeyer testified on Thursday that he and Leavy went on a spending spree after finding "a big pile of money" hidden in the motor home he drove throughout the United States and Mexico for the drug cartel. They bought several vehicles and sent cash to various relatives.

Leavy's sister, Colleen Andrews, testified Friday that Leavy sent $70,000 to her Henderson home in 2008 "for back child support." Andrews said she is raising Leavy's sons, ages 11 and 13, and helped raise her three older children.

The woman said authorities never asked her to turn over the money, which she spent on her children.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@review
journal.com or 702-384-8710.