"I got arrested," Gil says blandly. "Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. Middle-class Filipino kid with respectable parents--didn't matter. I was Hispanic enough. Brown and carrying drugs. Those were the important parts."

He goes quiet for a moment, both remembering and considering what to say next. "First offense. First one I got caught on, anyway. If it has gone to trial I probably would have gotten the max. Seven years, fine of up to $5000, which in the eighties, let me tell you. That was a lot more even than it is now."