Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 2, 1992 TAG: 9201020101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOSEPH COSCO LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: URBANNA LENGTH: Medium
DRUG ARREST SURPRISES NEIGHBORS
Middlesex County Sheriff Lewis Jones III was as shocked as anyone when federal agents arrested Jacques Georges Panis in late November on suspicion of drug smuggling."I've had little old ladies call me and say they were shocked, because they had had Jacques over for dinner," said Jones, a longtime friend of the suave, good-looking Frenchman.
Panis and Robert J. McNally of Virginia Beach are accused of turning this tiny river town, best known for its oyster festival, into the clandestine pot capital of Virginia.
From 1985 to 1989, federal investigators say, more than nine tons of marijuana was brought up the Rappahannock River to Urbanna and surrounding Middlesex County - more than two pounds of pot for each man, woman and child in this county of 8,000.
Officials say much of the marijuana passed through a marina on Urbanna Creek, a picturesque waterway where British privateers landed in 1781 to pillage the town.
But the influx of drugs from the West Indian island of St. Barthelemy apparently left less of a mark than the British assault. The marijuana reportedly went to New York for distribution, leaving little in its wake but shock and disbelief when the news hit Urbanna's newspaper, the Southside Sentinel.
The shock was not so much over the quantity of drugs, but the fact that Panis and McNally were charged with being involved.
Panis, 46, and McNally, 50, are in custody, unable to make bail of $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. They are scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Norfolk on Jan. 29 and face sentences of 10 years to life in prison.
By nearly all accounts, Panis was a well-liked, well-respected member of the tight-knit Urbanna community. People knew him as a skilled sailor and sharp boat salesman, whose only weakness may have been a fondness for women.
"I don't think you'll find anyone in the town who doesn't like him," said Mary Crockett, a clerk at Marshall's Drug Store.
Sheriff Jones said: "I, like many others, was surprised that he had any drug involvement. There's no doubt in my mind that he never used drugs."
People who know McNally say they are just as shocked. During a recent bond hearing, McNally's friends and attorney described him as a 20-year Air Force veteran who had top security clearance, did three tours in Vietnam and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and five other medals.
A French national, Panis landed in America after meeting and marrying Patsy Ladendorf, the daughter of a well-to-do former oil executive who owned Urbanna Marine Corp. She managed her father's marina on Urbanna Creek while Panis ran the boat dealership, reportedly selling more Beneteau sailboats than anyone on the East Coast.
Panis was on the Urbanna Volunteer Fire Department, joined all the local boat races and always was ready with a helping hand. He and his wife were never flashy, but they never seemed to lack money. They spent time each year in St. Barthelemy, a French island in the West Indies.
"All the ladies fell in love with his French accent," said Randy Alderks, who knew Panis through sailing circles.
"He could have easily had a modeling career," Jones said. "He was a big flirt, very nice and courteous."
Jones said Panis talked about having served on submarines and in the French Foreign Legion. "I felt like he was trying to create an air of mystique around himself."
By the late 1980s, Patsy's father had sold Urbanna Marine Corp. and the couple was having marital problems. Just before his arrest, Panis was working for a yacht company on the Northern Neck.
Panis reportedly met McNally when selling him a boat.
Like Panis, McNally is divorced. He has two grown children: one a surgeon, the other a dispatcher and driver for a trucking company. McNally also has a 14-month-old son out of wedlock, according to court testimony.
McNally worked in real estate before starting other business ventures, including a career consulting service and a physician placement service. He and Panis have several companies that federal investigators claim are little more than money-laundering operations.
One of the businesses, Liberte Ltd., is said to have bought a 60-foot ocean racer named the Phantom that Panis renovated into a plush luxury yacht.
Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of Panis' home in Weems, four boats and $7 million that the government claims was earned from the alleged smuggling operation. The boats don't include the Phantom, which apparently has disappeared.