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| Sam Droganes |
Hard
to believe it’s been a year since my friend Sam was released from prison
to a halfway house to start his journey back to civilized society. If you
remember (or if you don’t), Sam was sentenced to 18 months in a
minimum-security prison for selling the kind of fireworks you need a license to
sell. He did not possess that license. His company, Premium Fireworks, carried
around 1500 items, and the laws were gray on many of those products. Sam accepted
a plea deal and was convicted of a felony, but only because the government
threatened to put him in prison for 10 years if he lost at trial. Everyone who
knows Sam and the case knows he at most
deserved a fine, and should not have been convicted at all. What on earth was
to be gained by putting him in prison? The case had it all; lying prosecutors,
angry and incompetent ATF agents and a vengeful government with unlimited
resources. Resources they were more than happy to turn on a successful
businessman who was providing a fun product people loved. Sam served 13 months
of his sentence in a Kentucky prison before being released to a Cincinnati
halfway house for the remaining two months. I wrote about visiting him in
prison during that time in a series of posts. If you want to follow the story
from the beginning, here are the links:
Folks
familiar with Sam and the case have repeatedly asked where he is now and what
his plans are for the future. I spoke with him recently about those topics and
wanted to share the answers with anyone who is interested in or has followed
the case.
Jerry
Smith: Can you sum up your prison experience and what you learned from it?
Sam
Droganes: I learned a lot from the prison experience, actually. Most of what I
learned was how wasteful our government is. For some inane reason they would
routinely throw away a massive amount of food rather than offer the inmates a
second portion. I learned the upper echelon of the administrative staff there
seem to have multifarious ways of lining their pockets, through shammed up
training that is supposedly offered to the inmates, to insanely created
incentive programs that probably sound good to some liberal bent on attempting
to reform supposed criminals, but in practice are so abused that they are
little more than a dog and pony show for the powers that be. On a personal note,
I learned a big dose of how to do without a lot of the basics and comforts of
life. For example, a little thing like cinnamon was virtually priceless inside
the fence, when one could even secure some. Doing without bacon was also
something I learned, but I am glad I do not have to do that anymore!
Jerry:
No bacon! That should qualify as cruel and unusual punishment. If you would, describe your
halfway house experience before you came home. How long were you there?
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| Li Tien, Sam and Sam Sr. |
Sam:
I was at the hellhole of a halfway house, The Talbert House, from June 10 to
August 10, 2015. If I would have had any
idea how bad it was I would have stayed at The Manchester Federal
“Correctional” Facility. The most miserable experience of my life to say the
least. Despite the fact that I
never used a drug in my life nor smoked anything, I was routinely (as in weekly)
subjected to an early morning urinalysis. I am not sure if it is because of its
urban location or the personnel, but the staff, with a few pronounced
exceptions, was racist towards those of a lighter shade. The food there was
slightly better and of a greater portion than at Manchester, which was probably
the only thing that was superior. The communication there, as to anything
relative to the facility, was so contorted, convoluted, and connived that it
often rendered me contumacious [Note:
Yeah, I had to look it up. “Contumacious” means stubbornly or willfully
disobedient to authority. If you know him, very appropriate for Sam]. While the atmosphere at the halfway house was more laid back than in prison, the staff was actually more harassing and much less helpful.
Jerry:
What is the first thing you did when you were released from the halfway house?
What was your first meal?
Sam:
The first thing I did when I was released was to open my years’ worth of mail. Although
some of the mail had been sent to me or brought to me at the halfway house,
there was still a lot more to go through. Fourteen months allowed a plethora of
mail to accumulate. Other than that I thanked God the craziness was over and
that I could return to good food. To that end, my first meal was a home cooked
meal of steak and potatoes that my mother served with distinction and décor to
welcome me back. Although steak is my favorite meal, the BOP [Bureau of Prisons] was sans any form of
this, so it was great to get it immediately upon my return. And of course ice
cream was also part of my cause for celebration and I indulged in quite a bit
of it, as often as I wanted!
Jerry:
Why do you think the government acted unethically to put you away? Was it you
personally or the fireworks industry?
Sam:
To postulate on the government’s motivation for anything they did in my case is
speculative, but as my lawyers believed, the moronic lead agent, or “special
agent’ as he corrected me, furtively, if not factually, wanted my vast and
quite valuable firearms collection. Although I have no knowledge of other’s collections of firearms, I was
told by several arms dealers and numerous attorneys that it was probably one of
the largest in Northern Kentucky. All I
know is that I had more than 350 guns, almost all of which were new and in the
box. Looking like a kid on Christmas
morning, the agent, uh, that is, “special” agent, and he was “special” all
right, went through every one of them that fateful July 2, 2007 [When Premium Fireworks was first raided by
the ATF]. I noticed this as he foraged through the hundreds of them and
then left them in a pile at the two locations where they were, looking like a
cyclone had just hit.
Despite
my firsthand observation of the absolute exuberance he displayed as he pawed
his slimy fingers through each and every one, beginning with
my then concealed carry Colt .380, I was not the one to reach that conclusion. Ultimately
seizing and confiscating only one rifle, the agent alleged it might have been capable of
automatic fire. I might be capable of becoming a woman too, but neither his
assertion nor my capability was the case. Despite this they retained the rifle
for more than 18 months. Finally we filed a motion to compel its return, which
is one of the few motions the court granted unfettered in the entire charade,
otherwise known as a legal case. My attorney called me the day the return order
came in and asked me if I wanted to pick it up. I assured him I did not have a
target on my back such that I would walk through the federal building with a
rifle in my hands! So he picked it up and called me as soon as he exited the
location there, asking me about the rifle, which was one of a few munitions that
I had bought used, not new. It was at that moment, after he had seen the
rubbish that passed for guns in the ATFE evidence room that my advocate put
forth the theory that the agent wanted my gun collection. My ugly Portuguese-made
rifle, according to my attorney, was the standout in the crowd. It was far
superior in quality and condition than any other weapon they had there at the time.
My attorney told me then that he was starting to realize what this case was about,
the agent wants my guns. I practically scoffed unbelievingly, as at that time I
still thought the government and its agents would act above board. I assured
him that this could not be the case.
As
the case wound its way through the Kangaroo courts, at least four times the
same agent mentioned to one or both of my attorneys that if the case goes down
like he thinks it will and the feds get the felony on their client, he will
have to come and get my guns. Now given the fact that they spent somewhere in
the neighborhood of at least $25 million in my case to make me a felon, but
fined me not a penny, the only explanation that makes sense is that proffered
by my lawyer. They lied and cheated and stole everything else they could, using
the broad search warrant powers they were permitted.
Jerry:
How much longer are you on parole?
Sam:
Officially another two years of their crazy Supervised Release is what I am
due, given the sentence was three years of it. But I talked with the probation
lady (who is actually reasonable) and we both agreed that, since fireworks was
the only trouble I had been in in my life, and because I will soon be out of
the fireworks business, three years was excessive and unwarranted. She said if I can show her that I have
divested myself of the domestic fireworks business and that I have also sold my
factory in China, she would work with me to lessen the time. She further
explained that it is the local office’s policy that those on probation serve at
least half their sentence, but that I might even be the exception to that, if I
can show divestiture and permanent absence from the pyrotechnics trade.
Jerry:
Tell me about the year you have been out. What have you done with
yourself?
Sam:
I have been busier than when I was otherwise running a business, or when I was teaching
college courses and running a business. It is hard to believe that in a month
and a week it will have been a year since I was released from the inane hellhole
known as the Talbert House. I have been doing some projects that I never could
get to while operating a business, like trying to fix up my former fireworks
location in Covington. A lot of things had been ignored there and the building
is 98 years old, so I thought it time to address some things like weather
stripping, window work, paint and plaster work that otherwise had been delayed
or deferred. I also moved a lot of things around, now that the fireworks are
out. I’ve tried my best to travel as often as possible, which I love to do as
well. My pent up longing for road trips never got satiated when I was working
and fourteen months as a guest of the government’s crossbar hotel did not
exactly assuage my aspirations in that department. And currently I am in the
process of assisting my sister to divest of the last of the remaining inventory
as well as in the process of trying to sell my factory in China.
But
other than those things I have been trying to get life back to some semblance
of normal. Getting the various forms of insurance back; Obamacare and such have
consumed a lot of time. Trying to renew
various things that had lapsed, meeting with professionals in various
capacities and the like have also kept me busy. Returning a lot of phone calls
and other forms of communication have likewise resulted in little time to do
many other things that I want still to do.
Unfortunately there remain folks, even after nearly a year, I am yet to
contact, but want to and will soon, I hope.
Jerry: What remaining things do you have to do
to divest yourself of the fireworks industry?
Sam: I
have to get through the current selling season, which is imminent, first. [Note: This interview was conducted shortly
before this year’s fireworks season] Then as soon as possible I need to get
an accurate inventory of the remaining product. Then there are a number of
vendors to call who earlier expressed interest in purchasing the inventory,
post-season, when their coffers should be emptied by the season. One of my
customers in Pennsylvania, who ironically has an ice cream shop next to his fireworks
store there, has also expressed interest, as has a party or two in China, in buying
my factory in Liuyang, China. I need to sell that as well. The only thing
hanging in the balance beyond these two requirements is the three containers of
merchandise that US Customs has been holding for nearly seven years. Those
containers combined are worth about $135,000. I have fought the government
since they initially took them, but they continue to hold the containers
costing the taxpayers millions in storage fees, all for nothing, much as their
governmental brethren the ATFE did.
Jerry:
What do you plan for the future?
Sam:
As my good friend Jerry has made me realize, I am a lucky man in that I have
had the extreme fortune to make a living, and some years honestly a good
living, doing what I love, which is something a lot of humans cannot claim. Another
thing I did not realize until afterwards was that despite my longings for one
huge building, ultimately the State Fire Marshal’s demand to segregate my 45,000
square foot warehouse into three units has worked out more advantageously. [Note:
Sam’s fireworks warehouse is divided up into three separate sections] Two
of the units are currently leased, one, ironically to another pyrotechnic
enterprise from Georgia, and the other to a local furniture company. When we
finally vacate our third of the building, two parties are waiting to lease that
portion. With the warehouse fully leased, if I can sell my factory in China for
what it is really worth, and sell the remaining inventory here for its true
value, I hope I can pay off the huge amount that I still owe on the building. When
that happens the revenue the building generates should afford me a greater
living than a normal year in the fireworks business, all for essentially doing
nothing, which I am quite good at. Now I am a ways away from that, but it is
the theory under which I am currently operating. Other than that I want to
finish the book about the whole perverted, judicatory juggernaut, my experience
growing up in the pyro business, and my most esteemed father. My sister is
already champing at the bit for a book signing, even though the book is not
quite finished and I have not yet sought out a publisher.
Jerry:
What is your biggest takeaway, good or bad, from this entire experience?
Sam:
Among other things, it has vivified me in that I know now there are other things
in life besides fireworks. That may be an overstatement perhaps, but I was more
married to my business than any other entrepreneur could be. Delayed
gratification was my perpetual method of operation. I delayed building a house,
put off looking for a significant other, was miserly in using the profits for
more pleasure and in short delayed many other personal things or pleasures, in
deference to the business. I always plunked more into inventory while my own
remuneration or satisfaction was less monetary and more in merchandise. Having
such a vast and multifarious inventory was my source of pride and I thought a
prudent investment. Always costs for merchandise, shipping and associated costs
were rising, so since I had the new big fat warehouse, it only made sense to me
to order up and try to get it to capacity. Having no debts then besides the
huge warehouse mortgage, and having access to vast lines of credit made this
goal all the more attainable and desirable. But much like the structure in the
movie The Bridge Over the River Kwai,
I built it all up, carrying more than 1500 items, which is probably three to
five times more than most any other fireworks retailer, wholesaler or importer.
I had a couple of years of operating in this manner then watched a moronic,
rogue government agent steal it and get supported by a clumsy court that wanted
anything but true justice done.
Jerry:
If the authorities cleared you to get back into the fireworks industry, would
you do it?
Sam:
I will miss it for sure, because it was not just part of my life, it was my
life. Again, I delayed finding a significant other because of the business. I
delayed putting up my own house because of the business. I delayed taking a lot
of money in any given year because of the business. Always I wanted to pour
more of the income from the business into an ever-increasing inventory. I did
this all to watch them take away the $2.5 million in goods that I had amassed,
all for nothing. That experience has jaded me to never again try to grow a
business, just to see it fritter away because of a rogue government
agent. So to answer the question succinctly, no, I would not return. This
discounts too the ever increasing regulations that are foisted upon the
fireworks business by all the various government agencies. I want no part of
all that nonsense.
Jerry:
Sam, thanks for your time and those brutally honest answers. We all wish you
good luck in your future endeavors. And in getting your voting and firearm
rights returned.
