In 1994 John Knock was indicted in the Northern District of Florida as a co-conspirator with Claude Duboc, a man with French and American citizenship. Claude was arrested in Hong Kong with in a matter of weeks. He was extradited to the United States and hired Robert Shapiro to represent him who in short order referred the case to F. Lee Bailey who became co-counsel. Bailey was eventually disbarred because of the greed and corruption on all sides of this debacle.
Although John had not worked for many years, he was also indicted. John was arrested in France by Interpol at the request of the United States in 1996 and was held in the infamous Prison de la Sante in Paris for three years while he fought extradition. In 1999, he was extradited to the Northern District of Florida to stand trial. John's attorney was Michael Kennedy of New York. In 2000 he was found guilty of conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana, and money laundering. He was sentenced to two life terms plus twenty without parole, and his fine and forfeiture are in excess of one billion eight hundred million dollars.
During the mid 1990s, John's mother (who is also mine) began to show symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This is the story of a rather intriguing legal case and a simultaneous descent into the mystic.
It is a tragic story, but my family is ironic and therefore there is humor.