A 30-YEAR drug smuggling and identity theft ordeal could soon come to a close after former North Queens- land man Patton Eidson pleaded guilty to a string of charges in a San Francisco district court last week.
Eidson, whose daughter Maya Eidson formerly ran popular Mackay restaurant Maria's Donkey on River St, pleaded guilty to marijuana conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges in the US on Friday, according to AAP reports.
The 72-year-old was arrested in Australia in 2011 after nearly 30 years on the run and returned to the US last September to face the charges linked to an alleged Asian-American marijuana- smuggling operation in the 1980s.
The Eidson family, Patton, wife Sonja and daughter Maya, fled the US for Australia in 1985 when Patton was originally caught up in a drug dealing investigation involving a 1000kg marijuana shipment seized by US authorities.
The family assumed identities, gained false passports and moved to the far north Queensland town of Julatten, where they ran a health retreat for 15 years.
Patton lived under the alias Michael Goldrick.
Years after moving, Maya had to complete forms for visas, Australian citizenship and a passport, continuing a lie that started 32 years ago.
The elaborate ploy unravelled when the people whose identities they had assumed were found to have died when officials checked records.
Patton was sentenced to two years in jail and served six months for the passport fraud which led to Australian authorities denying him a visa and taking him into detention.
Since returning to the US, Patton maintained his innocence in early court hearings but reportedly agreed to plead guilty after striking a deal with prosecutors.
Patton hoped to return to Mackay to be with Maya, but his health is reportedly failing and his legal team fear he may not live through evem a twp year a prison term.
Patton is expected to be sentenced in the San Francisco District Courton April 27.
