Tuesday, July 10, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.
Jailed private investigator Mike Levin, now cooperating in the FBI's secrets-for-sale probe, was described as an excellent detective Monday by a criminal defense lawyer who worked closely with him.
"From a pure professional standpoint, he's done nothing but the highest-quality work," said Thomas Michaelides, who once traveled to Colombia with Levin in defense of a businessman charged in a cocaine case. "He was really passionate about his clients and followed every lead completely."
Michaelides, who spoke out for the first time since Levin was arrested June 14 in New York on charges of stealing confidential FBI documents, said he used the former FBI agent as an investigator on several criminal cases within the past year.
One case involved Alejandro Molina, a Medellin, Colombia, print shop owner arrested in Las Vegas for helping arrange a $200,000 cocaine deal, Michaelides said.
Levin and Michaelides spent several days in Medellin and Bogota in June 2000 chasing leads that showed Molina was forced into the cocaine deal by Colombia drug dealers who had taken over his print shop.
"He (Molina) was a legitimate guy," Michaelides said. "He brought the money here and was told to arrange a meeting and leave."
The information Levin uncovered, the attorney said, led to a much lighter than expected prison term for Molina.
"My client was extremely happy," Michaelides said, adding that Levin's ability to speak Spanish fluently proved invaluable in Colombia.
An FBI complaint in New York referred to Levin's travels to Medellin and Bogota last year.
Michaelides, who refused to confirm whether he has been interviewed by the FBI in the secrets probe, said the Colombia trip was the only one outside the country he took with Levin.
He said the two men, however, made trips to California on other cases.
Michaelides described Levin as a family man who worked hard during the week but stayed home on weekends to be with his two young children,
Levin, who had a stormy career in the Las Vegas FBI from 1989 until he resigned in 1997, had developed a reputation within the private investigative community as someone who boasted about making a lot of money.
Several weeks prior to his arrest in New York, Levin had purchased a new Porsche in Las Vegas.
Michaelides said Levin never talked about money with him, though the lawyer recalled seeing Levin drive the Porsche.
With Levin's cooperation, FBI agents in New York arrested nine more people, including three in Nevada law enforcement who allegedly provided him with classified FBI records.
James J. Hill, a Las Vegas FBI security analyst; Maria Emeterio, an investigator with the Nevada attorney general's office; and Mary Ellen Weeks, a Municipal Court intake-services officer, all have been charged with selling Levin the top-secret FBI information, which he in turn sold to criminal targets.
Levin, who pleaded guilty June 25 to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, told FBI agents he had earned $100,000 since 1999 selling the secret information to the targets, which included organized crime members.
Many within the private investigative community said they did not like Levin's flashy style.
But one veteran investigator, Michael Wysocki, thought highly of him.
Wysocki worked closely with Levin defending clients in the FBI's "Operation Thin Crust" investigation, which smashed a bid by the Los Angeles and Buffalo, N.Y., crime families to take over street rackets in Las Vegas. Underworld figure Herbie Blitzstein was killed during the plot in January 1997.
"Mike really was a good investigator," Wysocki said. "A lot of people didn't like him because of his personality, but he was really involved in his investigations."
Wysocki, who helped defend two reputed mobsters charged with killing Blitzstein, said Levin seemed to know more overall about the "Thin Crust" case than anyone else on the defense side. Levin was involved in defending reputed mob figure Dominick Spinale on racketeering charges not related to the murder.
Wysocki said he was "shocked" and "disappointed" when he learned about Levin's arrest last month.
"It's one thing to obtain information to assist attorneys," he said. "It's another thing to sell that information to a defendant. That's going over the line."
Although Levin was disciplined several times for abusing government credit cards during his years in the FBI, he still had several friends there when he left to become a private investigator.
Four FBI agents gave him recommendations when he applied for a license at the Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board in 1998, state records show.
Among those praising his work in the FBI were Herman Groman, an undercover agent in "Thin Crust," and Brett Shields, who is reported to be involved in the local investigation into FBI leaks.
Groman said he worked a variety of cases with Levin and that the former agent frequently demonstrated his abilities as an excellent investigator.
Shields wrote that Levin helped bring "multiple drug investigations to a successful conclusion" and was an "integral part of prosecuting numerous cases."
He said Levin also was always there for him as a friend.
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