Story Archive

He Cannot Tell a Lie

After the $5 million 106 foot “superyacht” Secret Spot docked in West Palm Beach, Fla., federal officials asked the captain, Jon Paul Costenbader, if he had gone through Customs after arriving from the Bahamas. They already knew the answer, and he admitted it: no. And what’s in the many duffel bags you’re unloading from the boat into a pickup truck, they asked. “Cocaine,” he allegedly replied — about 620 pounds of it, worth $5–6 million. The agents then asked Costenbader, 34, to deliver the bags as intended, and arrested the recipient when he accepted the shipment. Costenbader’s girlfriend, who was also on the yacht and allegedly admitted she knew the bags contained cocaine, was also arrested. Costenbader worked on the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” safety team. The Palm Beach Post reported that attorneys for the three “all entered please [sic] of not guilty.” (RC/Palm Beach Post) ...It’s unlikely the lawyers used that spelling: a shark expert would know how to hire the best lawyers.