outcry 3.out.001 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

Constanzo's psychic powers must have failed him in March 1989, for he was stunned by the reaction to Mark Kilroy's disappearance. Not even the Calzada family slaughter had produced such an outcry, most observers concluding that drug dealers and their lackeys were beyond protection of the law, a violent death their just reward. Some of Constanzo's victims had never been reported missing; three of them, later unearthed with the rest at Rancho Santa Elena, have never been identified.

But Mark Kilroy was different. He came from an affluent family with political connections. More to the point, he was an Anglo tourist whose fate threatened to become an international incident. Local police wanted to solve the case quickly, before their tarnished reputation suffered any further damage.

Constanzo, for his part, still had 800 kilos of marijuana to move across the border. To safeguard the shipment, he staged one final sacrifice at the ranch, choosing Sara Aldrete's old lover as the guest of honor. Gilberto Sosa died screaming on March 28, 1989, and the dope was safely transported on April 8, despite Serafin Hernandez leading police to the ranch one week earlier. Constanzo's mules collected $300,000 for the load, while El Padrino congratulated himself on his magical powers.