Sea of Greed is based on the true story behind the arrest of Manuel Noriega and the invasion of Panama pursuant to “Operation Just Cause.”

November 13, 2018 @ noon, Beaufort Lions Club, Clawson’s Restaurant , 425 Front St., Beaufort, NC 28516 (252) 728-2133 www.clawsonrestaurant.com

Former U.S. Attorney Douglas McCullough, now retired from the North Carolina Court of Appeals, prosecuted a sophisticated group of drug smugglers and money-launderers that had successfully gained access into Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Michigan, amassing over $50,000,000, which was placed in Panamanian banks with Manuel Noriega’s (1934-2017) assistance. The investigation and apprehension of these smugglers eventually led to the exposure of Noriega as a drug lord and money launderer, although on occasion he’d provided intelligence to the CIA and DEA and even received an award from President Reagan. A conspiracy that spanned this hemisphere, stretching from Colombia to the Grand Caymans, Jamaica and the United States, involved local politicians, businessmen, celebrities, and entertainment agents as well as Noriega and members of Colombian drug cartels. This is the only occasion in history where a head of state has been prosecuted in a federal court like any other criminal.

Judge Douglas McCullough served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia before becoming Counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee in Washington. He returned to his home state, North Carolina, in 1981 and became the senior Assistant United States Attorney, where he served until 1996. After four years in private practice, he won his first election to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and was re-elected in 2010.