Ken Hechtman

Canadian journalist (born 1967)

Ken Hechtman (born December 16, 1967) is a freelance journalist and convicted drug dealer from Canada who achieved brief international prominence in late 2001 when Afghanistan's Taliban government charged him with being a United States spy while he researched a story for the Montreal Mirror. Afghanistan tried, acquitted, and released him after a short time in jail.[1]

Early life

Hechtman was born in Montreal, Canada and attended Columbia University from 1987 to 1988.[2] He was suspended from Columbia from a year for stealing depleted Uranium-238 and other dangerous chemicals, and was required to reapply for admission. Instead, he planned to attend Vanier College.[3]

On November 25, 2001, he was captured by the Taliban hours after crossing into Afghanistan, while working as a reporter for the Montreal Mirror.[4] He was released approximately one week later.

In 2001, he identified as Jewish.[5]

Criminal charges

He married fellow Montrealer and journalist Wendy Hechtman on September 12, 2015. They moved to Nebraska in February 2016.[6]

In 2017, Hechtman and his wife Wendy were charged with conspiracy to manufacture 10 grams or more of fentanyl analogue, conspiracy to distribute a fentanyl analogue, and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue between on or about March 2017 and October 30, 2017.[7] According to police investigators, the pair invented a pastel-colored version of carfentanil, an opioid that can be up to 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and that can kill a human with only a few grains touching human skin. Hechtman allegedly "developed a sophisticated marketing system with a sales team of about 40 people."[8]

They pleaded guilty, and were both sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2018.[9] Hechtman was released on probation in November 2023.[10]

References

  1. ^ Steele, Jonathan (3 December 2001). "From rookie reporter to Taliban prisoner". the Guardian.
  2. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 24 February 1987 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  3. ^ "Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  4. ^ Steele, Jonathan (2001-12-04). "From rookie reporter to Taliban prisoner". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  5. ^ Steele, Jonathan (2001-12-04). "From rookie reporter to Taliban prisoner". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  6. ^ "Well-known Montreal couple face life imprisonment in Nebraska drug case".
  7. ^ "November 2017 Grand Jury". US Department of Justice. November 27, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "Police: Couple invented, cooked, marketed carfentanil, an opioid that 'would pretty much kill you instantly'". Fox 6 Milwaukee. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  9. ^ Hassanzadeh, Erin (2019-01-29). "Busted Omaha drug operation sounds like fiction, except it wasn't". KETV. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  10. ^ "United States v. Hechtman, 8:17-cr-00336 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2024-07-30.

Bibliography

  • Lisa Birnbach's New and Improved College Book, by Lisa Birnbach (1992) ISBN 0-671-79289-X
  • A Pravda report on Hechtman's captivity in Afghanistan.
  • Ken Hechtman's Taliban story for the Montreal Mirror.
  • A Columbia Spectator article.
  • A Columbia Spectator article.
  • An article by The Blue and White, Columbia University's undergraduate magazine
  • The Montreal Mirror 25th anniversary tribute to Ken
  • United States v. Hechtman (8:17-cr-00336), United States District Court, D. Nebraska