SNL 07 Best News Series - Man Reinvented Meth
SNL 07 Best News Series - Man Reinvented Meth
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CHAPTER 1
J
THOMAS GOUNLEY The events leading to the arrest of Paillet and his
TGOUNLEY@ stration for seven years. Yet he couldn’t wrap his head around co-conspirators are detailed in federal court records.
NEWS-LEADER.COM what his informant was describing. Additional information regarding Paillet was obtained
It was November 1992, and the man was talking about a vis- from the Drug Enforcement Administration through a
it to a home in Reeds Spring, Missouri. He said he’d been Freedom of Information Act request.
CHAPTER 2 forced at gunpoint to use methamphetamine manufactured there. But Interviews with Paillet’s family members and one-
COMING something was off. The informant didn’t mention beakers, flasks, time associates, along with current and retired law
Bunsen burners — none of the complex glassware Cornille was taught enforcement personnel, were conducted between
THURSDAY were part of meth labs. August 2016 and May 2017. One of Paillet’s daughters,
Instead, the informant reported an unusual scene: Black trash bags citing concerns regarding how this story could affect
stuffed with empty boxes of cold medicine. A mason jar full of kero- future job prospects, agreed to be interviewed on the
ONLINE sene, with something resembling a hockey puck settled at the bottom. condition that her first name be replaced with a pseud-
Starter fluid. And a cookie sheet in the oven, with a yellowish cake on it. onym. Editors agreed to that request.
Subscribers can read the full
Cornille, like other DEA agents, had made meth himself, under The photos of Bob Paillet in this story were provided
series online now. Just go to
controlled circumstances, as part of his official duties. It was stan- by his daughters. Booking photos of those indicted
News-Leader.com/insider.
dard practice; the agency knew it meant he’d have more credibility alongside Paillet were obtained from the Greene Coun-
Not a subscriber? Go online when he asked a court for a search warrant or filled out a probable ty Archives and Records Center. Center staff said they
to offers.news-leader.com/ cause statement recommending criminal charges. It was important did not have a booking photo of Paillet himself.
EWJ for a special digital
subscription offer. See METH, Page 6A USA TODAY NETWORK ILLUSTRATION BY MARK MARTURELLO
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 1
“I really believe that his method, here in Springfield, was the bounce
to get meth spread throughout the rest of Missouri and the United States.”
NICK CONSOLE, RAN THE DEA’S SPRINGFIELD OFFICE FROM THE MID-1990S THROUGH THE EARLY 2000S
Cornille responded. “Well, see I went to Springfield office from the mid-1990s through
Meth school to learn how to manufacture metham-
phetamine and to ...”
the early 2000s.
Despite Paillet’s pioneering role in an Amer-
Continued from Page 1A Paillet cut him off. ican drug epidemic, relatively little has been
“All the old ways,” he said. known about him. In the later years of his life,
he appears to have avoided public scrutiny, as
that prosecutors see him and other agents as ex- well as further trouble with the law. He died in
perts on the manufacturing of illegal drugs. Texas, age 72, on Jan. 1, 2016.
As Cornille sat down to request a warrant for Paillet’s death and the passage of time have
the Reeds Spring home, he couldn’t be that au- obscured some details. Other key elements —
thoritative. He needed another source, someone like his recipe’s alleged connection to the Third
who could credibly link common household Reich — have taken on the characteristics of ur-
items with the production of meth, a highly ad- ban legend.
dictive substance known for its energy boost. He Court documents obtained by the News-
called a chemist working for the DEA in Chicago. Leader shed light on his arrest and the early
“I still remember what he said, because I spread of the Nazi method. Interviews with
wrote it down word for word,” Cornille recalled family members and a key associate, none of
in a recent interview. “He said, ‘There’s a basis whom have previously spoken publicly, paint a
for such a formula in literature, but it’s not been picture of a man with an obsession who left pub-
seen in the United States.’” lic officials scrambling to respond for years.
It’s been nearly 25 years since the investiga- Cornille joined the DEA in 1985 after serving
tion, but that’s not the only comment that re- on the local police force in Washington, D.C. He
mains lodged in Cornille’s memory. spent the remainder of the decade in the nation’s
At some point, as the informant was describ- capital, fighting the crack epidemic. In 1990, he
ing the unusual lab in Reeds Spring, Cornille was transferred to southwest Missouri. At that
asked him if the meth was any good. If the an- point, Cornille recalls now, meth ranked about
swer was no, he figured, the situation might not third on the agency’s local priority list. Cocaine
be that big a deal. Low-quality stuff was unlike- and marijuana were much more prevalent.
ly to spread. In the mid- to late 1990s, however, the num-
The informant, however, had five words for ber of meth labs seized by the authorities dras-
him: tically increased, first in Missouri, and gradual-
“Best dope I ever had.” ly in other communities around the country. Be-
fore the decade was out, as the public and the
media sought answers as to how the drug shift-
ed from a problem to a crisis — how it grew
powerful enough to ravage entire communities
— law enforcement would point to Paillet by
name. The probable cause statement used to
“He brought it to life for this area,” Spring- charge Paillet, written by Cornille, traces his
field police Cpl. Dan Schrader told the News- arrival on law enforcement’s radar to Jan. 24,
Leader in 1998. 1993 — just over a week before he was arrested.
Paillet essentially converted the process of That day, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office ar-
producing meth from a complex formula — one rested two Springfield residents, Christopher
that required the so-called “cook” to have a Fricks and Kimberly Lee Duncan, for posses-
chemistry background — to a simple recipe sion of a controlled substance and possession of
that could be followed by the masses. DEA and a short-barreled shotgun.
court records indicate Paillet taught his method It’s not clear from court documents how or
to others, who in turn taught it within their own why Paillet’s name came up as the two were tak-
respective circles. The man behind the unusual en into custody. What is clear is that they told
Three months later, in Springfield, Cornille meth lab in Reeds Spring learned the method deputies of two places where Paillet stored ma-
sat across from a recently arrested 49-year-old from one of Paillet’s friends, Cornille said. terials he used to make meth.
man. Paillet wasn’t a drug lord; he didn’t control a The first was a room in a house Fricks was
With a voice recorder rolling, Cornille intro- network of associates. In fact, he did the oppo- renting in Joplin. Authorities searched it on
duced himself for the record, then moved on to site, spawning a generation of cooks by uninten- Jan. 28. The second was a property near the
his guest. tionally democratizing an illegal industry. One small town of Morrisville, where Paillet previ-
“With me today is Mr. Bob Paillet,” Cornille textbook released in 2014 called Paillet “argu- ously lived. One of his ex-wives allowed law en-
said, according to a transcript. “Mr. Paillet has ably the Johnny Appleseed for the spread of lo- forcement on the property on Feb. 1. Both tips
agreed to talk to me and explain to me different cal meth production throughout the Midwest.” were substantiated.
methods of manufacturing methamphetamine. Journalist Frank Owen, in his book released in Then, on Feb. 2, a Missouri State Highway
One using the sodium metal and anhydrous am- 2007, wrote that Paillet “effectively decentral- Patrol trooper and Polk County deputies headed
monia and then a couple others.” ized the local meth trade ... broadening the ap- to Paillet’s apartment on West 3rd Street in Bat-
Cornille told Paillet — pronounced “Pie-ay” peal of the drug.” tlefield. Paillet wasn’t home, but his current
— that he wanted “just to sit down and talk to In other words, Bob Paillet reinvented meth. wife was, and she began speaking to the men.
you about those different methods.” How did he do it? The story he told law en- She mentioned her husband would sometimes
“How you discovered them, and so forth,” forcement revolves around the Springfield disappear for up to three weeks at a time, telling
Cornille said. campus of Missouri State University, which at her he was working in Kansas City.
Paillet began by saying he’d always been in- the time was known as Southwest Missouri Midway through the conversation, Paillet
terested in chemistry and physics and that he’d State. drove up in a tan 1983 Chevy Cavalier. He walked
“just played around with my chemistry set.” “Bob claims he went to SMS’ library, and in a inside, and set an unzipped black duffel bag on
Then he got detailed. He talked about molecules, research manual he found this method of con- the floor. The grip of a pistol stuck out from the
replacement reactions and acetic acid, about ca- verting pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine top, and the trooper quickly moved to secure the
talysts, synthesis and hydroxyl groups. Scientif- using sodium metal as one of the catalysts,” gun. It was loaded: 19 rounds, one in the cham-
ic terms flowed with minimal prompting. Cornille said. “He claimed that at the top of the ber. Paillet said he’d traded for it.
About halfway through the conversation, page was a swastika.” The trooper and the deputies asked Paillet to
Paillet made a remark that fell somewhere be- Thus the moniker: The new process was the talk outside. He said sure.
tween a suggestion and a prediction. “Nazi method.” The new stuff, “Nazi dope.” They walked out and the officers read Paillet
“You’re gonna have to send all your agents “I really believe that his method, here in his Miranda rights. According to court docu-
back to school and learn chemistry ... There’s Springfield, was the bounce to get meth spread ments, Paillet “stated he was glad to see them
people out there that are going to great lengths throughout the rest of Missouri and the United and glad that it was over.”
to avoid getting caught,” he said. States,” said Nick Console, who ran the DEA’s Then he began to talk.
Thursday | May 25, 2017 | news-leader.com | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
The News-Leader is celebrating its 150th anniversary. See historic pages and a historic masthead every Saturday.
CHAPTER 2
USA TODAY
NETWORK
ILLUSTRATION
BY MARK
MARTURELLO
S
THOMAS GOUNLEY HOW WE REPORTED THIS STORY
TGOUNLEY@ state trooper and several sheriff’s deputies, Bob Paillet
NEWS-LEADER.COM gave the men consent to search his vehicle. Reporter Thomas Gounley began working on this story in
He knew why they were there. Before they could open the wake of Bob Paillet’s death in January 2016.
the door of his Chevy Cavalier, he told them what they’d The events leading to the arrest of Paillet and his co-conspir-
CHAPTER 3 find: methamphetamine, inside a small white pill bottle in the ators are detailed in federal court records. Additional informa-
COMING trunk. Once the drugs were retrieved, Paillet led the officers back tion regarding Paillet was obtained from the Drug Enforcement
Administration through a Freedom of Information Act request.
inside and pointed out the two sawed-off shotguns under a bed.
SUNDAY The same day — Feb. 2, 1993 — the trooper and the Polk County Interviews with Paillet’s family members and one-time
deputies drove Paillet to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s re- associates, along with current and retired law enforcement
ONLINE gional headquarters on Kearney Street. There they were joined personnel, were conducted between August 2016 and May
by John Cornille, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent 2017. One of Paillet’s daughters, citing concerns regarding how
Subscribers can read the this story could affect future job prospects, agreed to be in-
full series online now.
based in Springfield.
Authorities found a note in Paillet’s pocket, with a chemical terviewed on the condition that her first name be replaced with
Just go to News- a pseudonym. Editors agreed to that request.
Leader.com/insider.
formula written out. They also found two receipts, from trips to
Walmart. The photos of Bob Paillet in this story were provided by his
Not a subscriber? Go online Shortly before dusk, after speaking with investigators, Paillet daughters. Booking photos of those indicted alongside Paillet
to offers.news-leader. led the men to Room 431 of the American Inn Hotel in northeast were obtained from the Greene County Archives and Records
com/EWJ for a special Center. Center staff said they did not have a booking photo of
digital subscription offer. See METH, Page 4A Paillet himself.
WHEELS TO WORK
Insurer pulls out of Kan.,
Mo. health care exchanges Pilot program gets mixed reactions
ASSOCIATED PRESS surer, Aetna, announced earlier City-led Springfield’s new plan to help They hope to start in early June.
this month that it will completely connect panhandlers to job oppor- Springfield resident David Kes-
KANSAS CITY - Blue Cross leave the exchanges for 2018. program tunities and other resources is tak- terson attended two informational
Blue Shield of Kansas City is Blue KC President and CEO ing shape, two months after the idea meetings for volunteers Monday.
pulling out of the federal health Danette Wilson said in a state- seeks to was first introduced to city leaders. Kesterson told the News-Leader
care exchanges in Kansas and ment that the company had lost connect The eight-week pilot program, he would like to drive one of the two
Missouri next year because of more than $100 million on the called Wheels To Work, was created retired City Utilities buses that
mounting financial losses. exchanges through 2016 and de- panhandlers in response to an increased number were donated to the effort, to pick
The company’s announcement scribed the losses as “unsus- of complaints about people who panhandlers up from busy Spring-
Wednesday makes it just the lat- tainable.” The exchanges began with jobs stand by busy roads to ask for food field intersections.
est insurer to drop out of the gov- operating in 2014. or money. Kesterson said he attended the
ernment-backed marketplaces The release said about 67,000 ALISSA ZHU The city, along with partner or- meeting about Wheels To Work “be-
that were a pillar of the Obama- members in western Missouri [email protected] ganizations such as the Council of cause, like me, it’s here to help
era federal health care overhaul and eastern Kansas would be Churches, Crosslines and One
law. The nation’s third-largest in- affected. Door, is recruiting volunteers. See WHEELS, Page 4A
starting at
starting at
2632 S. Glenstone
(Across from the Battlefield Mall in the
Headstone saddles
starting at
$12.00 99¢
Brentwood Shopping Center)
Mon.–Sat. 9–7 and Sun. 11–5 $19.00
417.886.1176
Springfield Warehouse
9323 State Hwy. 266
(5 miles West of I-44)
7:30–4 Mon.–Sat.
417.732.6263
417.732.6264
Weeighted pots Flat Sprays
2631 N Kansas Expy starting at
starting at
Mon.–Sat. 9–7and Sun. 11–5
We accept 417.873.9562 $7.00
$ $7.00
4A Thursday, May 25, 2017 NEWS-LEADER § News-Leader.com
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 2
“My father is a classic case of what PTSD does to a brilliant mind.”
LISA PAILLET, BOB PAILLET’S OLDEST DAUGHTER
panhandlers standing at medians. ple Ready or the Career Center, Buch- wheel,” Webb said. “If it’s worked in oth-
Wheels Once the driver has visited all the in-
tersections, any panhandlers who want
holz said, he or she will receive a one-
week bus pass.
er places, let’s try it here.”
Scott said the idea for Wheels To Work
Continued from Page 1A to participate in Wheels To Work will be Adam Bodendieck with One Door was originally inspired by Albuquer-
first given a ride to Victory Mission. coached prospective volunteers on how que’s job program, but Springfield has
There, they can shower, eat a hot meal to safely and appropriately approach gone a different route for a few reasons.
make the city a safer, cleaner, more prof- and launder their clothing. people at intersections. Scott said the city is required by the
itable place.” The Missouri Career Center and Vic- Look both ways before you cross the federal government to drug test all of its
Gazing out of the window after the tory Mission can also provide profes- street, Bodendieck said. Dress casually. employees.
meeting, he appeared to say to no one in sional clothes to anyone who needs them. Start out with simple conversation. “We wanted to provide a job opportu-
particular, “Some progress is being Program participants will be asked to Smile and be engaging. Don’t be sur- nity that would allow people to forgo hav-
made at least.” fill out a needs assessment form that prised if someone appears to be drunk or ing a drug test or background check,”
“They’re making some effort,” said asks questions such as: Where have you on drugs. Scott said.
Kesterson, who used to be homeless in been living this past week? Do you cur- “Human kindness 101 is what this is,” Many organizations, including People
Springfield for many years. “More than rently have a valid photo ID? What are Bodendieck said. Ready, stepped up eager to help, Scott
they have in the past.” your barriers to employment? Bodendieck said Wheels To Work is a said, so the city decided to make it a col-
Describing the program to volunteers Depending on the individuals’ needs, “work-readiness program” and hopes laborative effort.
Monday afternoon, Mark Struckhoff they may then be transported to One that it has the potential to lead people to The city is leading an educational as-
with the Council of Churches of the Door, where they can be connected to more long-term employment options. pect of the program as well.
Ozarks emphasized that specific aspects more resources. People who attended the information- Scott said the city will put up signs
of the plan will probably adapt to fit the Or, they could proceed directly to al meetings on Monday had mixed reac- that will direct people looking for help or
needs of program participants along the seeking work through temporary em- tions to the plan. wanting to donate to call “211” to reach
way. ployment agency People Ready. Katie Webb, who does not plan to vol- the United Way of the Ozarks.
The buses have been re-branded with People Ready will ask the panhan- unteer, told the News-Leader she’s “du- There, they can ask questions about
a “Wheels To Work” logo and will be dlers to take an employment readiness bious” the program will be effective. resources for panhandlers or request to
leased from the city of Springfield to the test as well as drug and alcohol screen- Webb said she was disappointed be- donate to Wheels To Work, Scott said.
Council of Churches for $1 a year. ing tests. cause she believes the city is not really Bob Samuels, who signed up to be a
The Council of Churches is the organi- Rand Henslee with People Ready pre- offering anything new to panhandlers. bus driver for Wheels To Work, said he
zation that has taken the lead in many as- viously told City Council that most, but “In my opinion, there is no incentive left Monday’s meeting feeling good.
pects of the program. All volunteers are not all, jobs require drug tests and back- for panhandlers to get on the bus and “This is a great program and one we
required to register with the Council of ground checks. waste half a day at these three different should have been doing previously,” said
Churches, consent to a background If a person does not clear People places that they are already aware of,” Samuels.
check and abide by anti-discrimination Ready’s intake process, they will work Webb said. He said he’s been told that the only
and confidentiality policies. Vehicles with the Career Center to find day-labor Webb said the city-led plan does not way to decrease the number of panhan-
and volunteers will be covered by the jobs. go far enough and is little more than a dlers in Springfield is to stop giving
Council of Churches’ insurance policy. The buses are scheduled to stop oper- hyped-up bus service. them money.
The Wheels To Work program will tar- ating at 3 p.m. “If you want to say, ‘We’re offering That doesn’t really solve the problem,
get six intersections, narrowed down City spokesperson Cora Scott told the rides to people who want it,’ great,” though, Samuels said.
from a list of 12 originally identified by News-Leader that people are not likely to Webb said. “Don’t say it’s a great way for “(Wheels To Work) is actually giving
Springfield police as those that frequent- work the same day they are picked up by them to earn money and get them off the people a chance at something they
ly have panhandling activity. Wheels To Work buses, but they could be corner.” need,” he said.
Every Monday and Tuesday, starting ready to start a new job the next morn- Webb said she wishes Springfield had Samuels said he’s interested in learn-
at 10 a.m., both buses will embark on a ing. a work program that more closely emu- ing more about panhandlers, their back-
fixed route, stopping at three intersec- Wes Buchholz with Crosslines said if lated programs in Denver or Albuquer- grounds, and what drives them to ask for
tions each. someone goes through One Door with the que, New Mexico, where city funds are money.
At each intersection, the bus will sit in Wheels To Work program, he or she will used to employ panhandlers to do land- “Is it an easy way out or is it their only
a nearby parking lot for 15 to 30 minutes receive a one-day bus pass. scaping or pick up trash. way out?” Samuels asked. “Are they will-
while volunteers dodge traffic to talk to If someone finds work through Peo- “I’m not about reinventing the ing to work if they are offered a job?”
Sunday | May 28, 2017 | news-leader.com | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
The News-Leader is celebrating its 150th anniversary. See historic pages and a historic masthead every Saturday.
inside
$79
in coupons
Value may
vary by area CHAPTER 3
EASE
INTO
JUNE
River Jam, Pridefest
and Over the Edge
among highlights of our
June calendar, Page 1C
BUSINESS
3M makes
expansion
plan final
City leaders OK’d
financial incentives
THOMAS GOUNLEY
[email protected]
Manufacturer 3M on
Wednesday said it is official-
ly moving forward with plans
to expand operations in
THE REINVENTION
Springfield.
The announcement comes
B
THOMAS GOUNLEY y the time he was arrested with methamphetamine in the “I just
months after Springfield TGOUNLEY@ trunk of his car in 1993, Bob Paillet was on his third marriage. remember
City Council approved finan- NEWS-LEADER.COM
cial incentives in an effort to He had fathered two children, born 10 years apart, in dif- seeing this
land the project. Minnesota- ferent states, to different women. The lives of his daughters, one huge
based 3M had said Spring- to this day, have had relatively little overlap. table ...
CHAPTER 4 Both women, however, have memories of living with their father on a with
field was competing for the
expansion against other cit- COMING plot of rural land along Highway JJ, not far from Morrisville, Missouri. beakers
ies where it has a plant. THURSDAY The town of about 400 is 25 miles north of Springfield. and pots
The $40 million project The remote venue in the anonymous rolling hills of the Ozarks appears and things
will include upgrades at 3M’s to have been one place where Paillet refined the work that would later smoking
current plant at 3211 E. ONLINE turn the meth trade on its head. and, you
Chestnut Expressway, as
Gena Paillet, Bob’s youngest daughter, lived there in the mid-1980s. know, tubes
well as the redevelopment of Miss a chapter? You
the former Mammoth build- can read the full She and her father had recently moved back to Missouri from California. going from
ing on East Pythian Street, series online now at Her mother, Bob’s second wife, stayed behind in the Golden State for a one to
which 3M has owned for News-Leader.com. year to work. Gena and her father lived in a modified school bus while Bob the other.
years. It is expected to in- began building a house. I didn’t
Want more in-depth
crease the plant’s workforce journalism like this? It was a simple setting. The bathroom for a time was an outhouse. But know what
by about 90 people in the next Go online to the property gave Gena, who says she grew up fearing her father, what it was, but I
several years, according to a offers.news- she calls “some of the best memories of my life.” There were dense woods knew he
news release from the Mis- leader.com/EWJ to explore, and the property abutted the Little Sac River. was up to
souri Department of Eco- for a special digital something.”
“We’d go swimming in that all the time and catch crawdads, things like
nomic Development. subscription offer.
“We hope 3M’s expansion that,” Gena said. “I’ve thought about going back to that property.”
GENA
of its adhesives and tapes di- Within a couple of years, however, Bob and his second wife separated. PAILLET
vision in Missouri sends a USA TODAY NETWORK Gena said her father was unfaithful and verbally abusive. She and her BOB PAILLET’S
message to those in the busi- ILLUSTRATION BY mother went to live in Morrisville. DAUGHTER
MARK MARTURELLO
ness community — from the Not long after, in 1987, Bob’s oldest daughter, a product of his first mar-
small family business to the riage, arrived at the property.
major corporation — that we
are going to work to help See METH, Page 4A
them grow and prosper,”
Gov. Eric Greitens said in a
statement.
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 3
“If you heard the geese and it was dark outside, you hit the lights and you hit the floor.”
LISA PAILLET, BOB PAILLET’S DAUGHTER
Meth
Continued from Page 1A
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 3
NOW IS THE
TIME
TO
ON THE LARGEST
SAVE
SELECTION OF
NEW CHEVYS!
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY FAMILY
Bob Paillet, left, poses with a friend in a photo believed to be from the 1970s.
Continued from Previous Page pened. Evidence suggests, however, that it was years
before his arrest.
OVER 80 NEW
The wooded hollows of southern Missouri once at-
tracted moonshiners. By the late 1980s, the region’s
The Reeds Spring lab wasn’t the first of its kind. A
Nazi method-style lab was found in 1988 in a trailer
park in Vacaville, California, according to a 1990 arti-
CHEVY MALIBUS
rural nature and sparse law enforcement presence cle in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Authorities
were seen as ideal for making meth. DEA officials re-
ported that manufacturers were buying or leasing
farmhouses and converting them into P2P labs. Still,
later came to believe Paillet was behind the lab — a
conclusion that appears supported by his numerous
connections to the state.
AVAILABLE
they were few and far between; Cornille said agents The Nazi method starts with the compound pseu-
typically came across a couple of labs per year. doephedrine, which, chemically speaking, is one oxy-
After being transferred from Houston, Console gen atom removed from methamphetamine.
worked for the DEA overseas in Turkey, then in San
Francisco. In the fall of 1994, about a year and a half
after Paillet’s arrest, he arrived in Springfield as the
Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient in cold
medicines sold under brand names such as Sudafed.
Here’s how a former DEA chemist described the
2017 CHEVY MALIBU
DEA’s new resident agent in charge.
“When I got here, it was the beginning of the spike
ensuing process:
To make meth, the manufacturer pulverizes the
LT
in meth labs,” he said. pseudoephedrine pills in a coffee grinder, creating a
fine powder that is placed in a coffee filter.
Methyl alcohol, in the form of something like wind-
shield washer fluid, is poured over it, and then evap-
orated out.
The cook then adds ether, anhydrous ammonia — a
compound commonly used by farmers as fertilizer —
and sodium metal or lithium metal, which can be
stripped from commercial batteries. That produces a
liquid called meth oil.
More ether is added, and the solution is put
through another coffee filter. A bubbler is then used
to convert rock salt and other material to hydrogen
chloride gas, which converts the meth oil into a white
powder. Meth.
The Nazi method is also sometimes referred to as
SAVINGS AS MUCH AS
25% OFF
the Birch method because it builds upon the Birch re-
duction, a reaction first reported in 1944 by the Aus-
tralian chemist Arthur Birch.
The significance of the Nazi method was how sim-
ple it was. When DEA agent John Cornille gave talks
Lisa Paillet doesn’t believe her father was ever in a to community members, he’d compare it to baking a MSRP
motorcycle gang. But Bob definitely associated with cake.
some shady types. “Bob made meth a recipe anyone could follow,” he AVAILABLE ON LIMITED INVENTORY
“I know that when I was in circles of people that I said.
would consider very bad people, he was known in The Nazi method produced small amounts of the
California,” she said. drug, not the big batches typically cooked up in rural
Lisa also said her father “would have hundreds of “superlabs.” But unlike previous manufacturing
thousands of dollars of cash sometimes, and then he methods, Nazi dope didn’t require an open heat
would have nothing.” source. It involved fewer steps, and took less time.
3655 S. Campbell
Springfield, MO 65807
417-887-5800
800-725-5800
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Plus, NEW Summer Concert Series June 2-4 & 9-11 Section
Weekend
CHAPTER 4
OUT &
DOWN
Rappelling Sky Eleven
building part of Over the
Edge fundraiser
NATHAN PAPES/NEWS-LEADER
Janis McCall, the mother of Stacy
McCall, holds a missing poster of
the three missing women.
Mother of
missing
woman:
Don’t call it
anniversary
McCall: 25th marker
of disappearance
is not a celebration
GIACOMO BOLOGNA
[email protected]
B
THOMAS GOUNLEY ob Paillet ordered a pecan waffle with extra butter and a “Friend?
McCall went over to the central TGOUNLEY@
Springfield home. glass of milk, then settled into the booth at a north Spring-
The doors were unlocked.
NEWS-LEADER.COM
field Waffle House. He was wearing a wire. No.
And inside a room were Stacy After being arrested on Feb. 2, 1993, the Springfield-
McCall’s shorts, shoes and bra Associate.
in a neat pile on the floor next to
CHAPTER 5 area resident told the authorities that he’d taught his new
the bed. Nearby were her keys, COMING recipe for methamphetamine — the so-called “Nazi method” — to a Close
her bathing suit, her purse and friend. Now, less than 24 hours later, Paillet, 49, was killing time reading
her make-up kit. SUNDAY associate.”
the newspaper, waiting for that man to arrive. Drug Enforcement Ad-
“I thought, ‘This is absolute-
ly stupid’ — that she left her ministration agent John Cornille and a Missouri State Highway Patrol MIKE
stuff here and she left her car ONLINE POPLAWSKI
trooper were listening from a van parked nearby. DESCRIBING HIS
and she didn’t have any sense to Miss a chapter? You “Hey, late as usual,” Paillet said as Mike Poplawski, 34, arrived. RELATIONSHIP WITH
call me,” McCall said. can read the full
Stacy was a beautiful, vi- A transcript of the conversation that took place over breakfast — BOB PAILLET IN A
series online now at RECENT INTERVIEW
brant girl, McCall said. She News-Leader.com. obtained from the DEA under the Freedom of Information Act — is
used to model wedding dresses, heavily redacted, with Poplawski’s comments completely blacked out.
and her long hair reached past Want more in-depth USA TODAY NETWORK
her waist. journalism like this? By the time they parted ways, however, Poplawski had given Paillet ILLUSTRATION BY
Even now, when McCall sees Go online to 279 milligrams of meth, according to court documents. The wire caught MARK MARTURELLO
a girl with hair that long, she has offers.news- everything.
to get a glimpse of the girl’s face leader.com/EWJ
for a special digital The next day, Cornille and the trooper showed up at Poplawski’s
just to see that it’s not Stacy.
Why didn’t she call? And subscription offer. home on South Newton Street.
why was her car still parked
outside? See METH, Page 3A
“Her shirt and her panties
were all that she had,” McCall
said.
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TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 4
“He experimented on people. He’d change the formula a little bit and then give it to junkies he knew’d
take it and ask no questions, and then watch their reactions. This is the guy that DEA worked with.”
MIKE POPLAWSKI, BOB PAILLET’S ASSOCIATE
Mike
Poplawski
Gary
Davis
Frank
Wright
Kenneth
Allen
RIGHT:
Waffle House
on North
Kansas
Expressway.
NATHAN PAPES/NEWS-LEADER, ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARK MARTURELLO
inside
$108
in coupons
Value may
vary by area CHAPTER 5
DOWN
ON THE
FARM
Kratochvil’s 100-acre
farm offers glimpse of
days past | Page 1C
State cuts
funding
for sobriety
checkpoints
Lawmakers’
priority shifted to
saturation patrols
SUMMER BALLENTINE
THE LEGEND
ASSOCIATED PRESS
T
THOMAS GOUNLEY he inaugural class of those involved with “Nazi dope” was sen- “If I
that officials say could hinder
or end the manpower-inten-
TGOUNLEY@ tenced in Springfield in the spring of 1994. could’ve
NEWS-LEADER.COM There was Bob Paillet, who told authorities he was the pio-
sive practice in some areas of shot
the state. neer behind the new meth labs popping up in southwest Mis-
souri; Mike Poplawski, to whom Paillet taught his new meth- lightning
Missouri lawmakers in the CHAPTER 6
past provided federal fund- od; Frank Wright, who said he learned it from Poplawski; Gary Davis, who out of my
ing for both sobriety COMING arranged to learn it from Wright; and Kenneth Allen, who bought meth eyes, he’d
checkpoints and saturation THURSDAY from, and sold meth to, Poplawski. have been
patrols. Checkpoints involve Allen, who tested positive for using drugs while on bond, was sen-
blocking a street so that all a pile of
tenced to three years probation.
drivers are funneled through ONLINE flesh, a
a group of officers and are Davis also used meth while on bond and traveled without permission
out of the state. He was sentenced to five years in prison. pile of
stopped. Miss a chapter? You
The saturation patrols in- can read the full Poplawski was sentenced to nearly six years in prison. ash, in a
volve positioning extra offi- series online now at If the sentencing guidelines at the time were followed, Wright heartbeat.
cers in pre-defined, unan- News-Leader.com. would’ve faced something similar — between six to seven years behind He just
nounced areas to watch for bars. Prosecutors, however, told the judge he provided “substantial assis-
signs of drunken driving be-
Want more in-depth cost me
journalism like this? tance” in the prosecution of Poplawski. So he was sentenced to about three
fore pulling over drivers. years in prison, followed by a similar amount of probation. five years.
Go online to
The budget now on Repub- Then there was Paillet, who received the best deal of them all. He cost
offers.news-
lican Gov. Eric Greitens’ desk
shifts all but $1 of the $20 mil-
leader.com/EWJ Using the sentencing guidelines, prosecutors calculated Paillet’s “total me five
for a special digital offense level” to be 31. That would correspond with nine to 11 years behind years.”
lion devoted to impaired driv-
subscription offer. bars. The prosecutors, however, wrote that “defendant agreed to fully co-
ing detection to saturation pa-
trols — a technical budgeting operate with the government.” He was credited with assisting in obtain- MIKE
maneuver. USA TODAY NETWORK ing the guilty pleas of the others: Poplawski, Allen, Wright and Davis. POPLAWSKI
Police will still be able to ILLUSTRATION BY TALKING ABOUT
MARK MARTURELLO BOB PAILLET
set up checkpoints, but they See METH, Page 4A
can’t pay for them using that
funding.
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 5
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 5
Meth
Continued from Previous Page
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The News-Leader is celebrating its 150th anniversary. See historic pages and a historic masthead every Saturday.
CHAPTER 6
THE SPREAD
I
THOMAS GOUNLEY n 1998, the man credited with pioneering the so-called “Na- “It has exploded on the scene so quick, it’s
TGOUNLEY@ zi method” of methamphetamine production was contact-
NEWS-LEADER.COM ed by a News-Leader reporter. so easy to do, and there are so many people
Bob Paillet had moved to Texas from southwest Mis-
souri several years prior, not long after being sentenced involved in manufacturing it, that it has
CHAPTER 7 for conspiring to manufacture and distribute the drug. He was completely overtaxed our capabilities.”
COMING still on probation.
It appears to be Paillet’s only published interview. He ex- THE COMMANDER OF AN 11-COUNTY NARCOTICS TASK FORCE
SUNDAY pressed regret to reporter Laura Bauer. IN NORTH TEXAS TOLD A MAGAZINE IN 2001
“I never thought it would spread like this,” he said. “ ... I don’t
USA TODAY NETWORK travel in those circles anymore.” ONLINE
ILLUSTRATION BY
MARK MARTURELLO
In the years after his arrest, Paillet also wrote several letters
to — and once spoke on the phone with — John Cornille, the Drug Miss a chapter? You can read the full series
Enforcement Administration agent who investigated him. online now at News-Leader.com.
“I can remember him expressing remorse that he had started Want more in-depth journalism like this?
‘this mess,’ as he referred to it,” Cornille said. Go online to offers.news-leader.com/EWJ
for a special digital subscription offer.
See METH, Page 4A
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TONIGHT 570 MOONLIT SKY ©2017, NEWS-LEADER information
TOMORROW 830 PARTLY SUNNY Dear Abby 5D Lottery 2A Opinion 7A Rentals 4F
4A Thursday, June 8, 2017 NEWS-LEADER § News-Leader.com
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 6
“The devastation and the damage to kids … I understand why Bob had regret.”
JOHN CORNILLE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION AGENT
Meth
Continued from Page 1A
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inside
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CHAPTER 7
A LEGACY OF REGRET
B
THOMAS GOUNLEY ob Paillet didn’t leave a suicide note. There’s a guest book option on the site. One per- “I hope my name
TGOUNLEY@ Early in the afternoon of Jan. 1, son — Paillet’s second wife, Gena’s mother — has
NEWS-LEADER.COM 2016, the 72-year-old drove his red left a message: “We had a lot of happy years to- is forgotten or it’s
Dodge truck from the mobile home gether. You will be missed. Your pain is over, ours
park where he lived in Sherman, Tex- now begins.”
put in the back of
ONLINE
as, to a nearby hospital. It was a little over a mile. Otherwise, there was nothing in the public rec- people’s minds.”
Miss a chapter? Then, he took a gun — “he had a lot of guns,” said ord acknowledging that the man credited with
You can read the full his daughter Gena — walked to the front of the ve- reinventing methamphetamine production in the BOB PAILLET
series online at hicle, and shot himself in the head. He died min- U.S. was dead. All in all, it probably turned out IN AN INTERVIEW WITH
News-Leader.com. utes later in the emergency room. about how Paillet would have wanted it. THE NEWS-LEADER IN 1998
Want more in-depth Paillet’s family held a memorial service after In 1998, he spoke briefly with a News-Leader
journalism like this? his death. To the outside world, however, the only reporter, the only time he was ever quoted in the USA TODAY NETWORK
Go online to offers. acknowledgment of his passing can be found on media. At the time, meth lab busts were drastical- ILLUSTRATION BY
MARK MARTURELLO
news-leader.com/EWJ the website of a Denison, Texas, funeral home. It’s ly increasing across the central United States. Au-
for a special digital not really an obituary, just a name and a pair of
subscription offer. dates. See METH, Page 4A
LEGISLATURE
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 7
Meth
Continued from Page 1A
“My husband kind of ended up learning my of his death, and ended up leaving beforehand
dad’s recipe,” Gena said. “Not anywhere near as (Lisa Paillet described her half-sister as “high
good as my dad.” as a kite” at the time). Gena expressed regret
Gena, who said she grew up fearing her fa- that she didn’t receive something her father
ther, first got in trouble for drugs when she was wanted her to have — “this metal container
17. She thought her father was going to kill her. thing that his very first successful batch of
Gena, 38, came of age in a world that her fa- Instead, she said, he “became my best friend stuff was made in.”
ther helped create. ever, because we understood each other.” In August, Gena said she put herself through
Growing up in Morrisville, she “never really “My mom — I love my mom — she’s never treatment after returning from Bob’s memorial
fit in,” she said, and started drinking at an early done a drug in her life,” Gena said. “She’s had service. She said she had been clean since Jan. 25.
age. When Gena and her mother moved to maybe one speeding ticket, and I think she even “It really hurts me that my dad never got to
Springfield, she “immediately just fell in with got that dismissed. Really, this connection grew see me get my life together,” she said.
the wrong crowd.” She graduated from Spring- between him and me that was just amazing. I By November, however, Gena was back in a
field’s Parkview High School in 1996. could really do no wrong in his eyes.” three-week rehab program. She attributed the
“A lot of people believe that addiction is ge- Gena said that between her late teens and relapse to her depression and said she “wasn’t
netic,” Gena said. “I am my father’s daughter, late 2015, she was only “clean” for extended pe- managing it with medication like I should have
not just in that way, but every way that there is.” riods twice, when she became pregnant. “But I been.” In early May, she said she had stayed
Gena said she used meth for the first time at always went pretty much right back.” clean since completing the program.
age 15. Two years later, she met Steven Joseph In late December 2015, Gena said, she over- “It’s still hard a lot of days,” Gena said. “And
Brown, the man who would become her hus- dosed on heroin. Gena’s mother, with whom she it’s hard to stay away from the people that kind
band. lived at the time, kicked her out of her house. of want to push it on you.”
“He used needles, and he shot me up for the Gena called her father, who paid for a motel
first time with heroin, and it was pretty much room for a week and indicated she should come Continued on Next Page
over from there,” she said. “It was always either live with him in Texas.
that or meth. There was like a two-year period “He said, ‘I want you to go to your parole offi-
where I probably never slept. It’s been a strug- cer and start getting everything transferred
gle for me ever since.” down here and I want you to come back here,’
Brown — who died in February 2016 — was 16 and he said, ‘I will get you through this,’” Gena
years older than Gena. Prior to meeting her, he said.
gave Gena’s father precursor chemicals in ex- Two days later, she got the call that her father
change for meth, she said. At one point, he was was dead.
even arrested by John Cornille, the Drug En- Gena said she traveled to Texas to attend her
forcement Administration agent who investi- father’s memorial service, but got in a dispute
gated Bob. with the woman Bob was living with at the time
TH E M A N W H O R E I N V E N T E D M E T H : C H A P T E R 7
“I wish I never started it. I would never do it again. I caused a lot of trouble with a lot of people.”
BOB PAILLET, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE NEWS-LEADER IN 1998
Meth
Continued from Previous Page