On October 2, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that three additional members of the Pueblo Bishops Bloods were found guilty of federal racketeering, narcotics, and gun charges.  The group is a long-standing street gang that attempts to control the Pueblo del Rio housing projects.  

On October 3, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho announced that Anthony Stoner of Boise, Idaho pleaded guilty to selling illegal drug paraphernalia a local store called Smoke N Accessories LLC.  The business is located on 6419 Ustick Road in Boise.  

Mr. Stoner is part of 8 defendants charged in the last two months for selling illegal drug paraphernalia.  The following defendants are still waiting to be sentenced: Gabriel Adam Busby, Bradley Berquist, Yoke Fee Chan, Janet Shirley, Antonio Mendoza, Adam Daniel Schreiner, Crystal Blumke, and Thomas Blumke.  There defendants are part of the 16 different individuals charged in May of 2011 under Operation Not for Human Consumption.  The operation targeted the illegal sales of paraphernalia and specifically targeted the synthetic marijuana called “spice.”  

According to U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, “It is against federal law to sell or offer for sale any paraphernalia that is primarily intended or designed for drug use, regardless of whether the seller advices their customers that the paraphernalia is for tobacco use only.  The businesses are commonly referred to as “headshops.””

Such shops are in a grey area as far as legality.  As mentioned above, the sale of drug paraphernalia is illegally under federal law, even equipment that is marketed for tobacco only.  However, state laws often determine if such a shop can operate or not.  Idaho has taken strong steps to limit the amount of these shops in the state and the type of products they are allowed to sell.  The state’s stance contrasts state laws in bordering states like Oregon and Washington.  

The Operation Not for Human Consumption was a cooperative effort between the DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, FBI, the ICE’s HSI, the IRS Criminal Investigation, and multiple local and state police offices.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 4, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that Barrett Lancaster Brown was charged by a federal grand jury in for one count of making a threat over the internet, for one count of threatening to make personal information of a U.S. employee available to the public, and one count of retaliating against a federal law enforcement officer.  Brown is from Dallas and was apprehended in September.  

On October 4, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that a Union County man admitted his role in robbing the bank where he worked, the TD Bank branch in Westfield, New Jersey.  The man’s name is Jelani Bustamonte, and he was arrested at his home on January 26, 2012.  

According to court documents, the first conspiracy involved a plan to rob bank tellers at the TD Bank in Westfield.  A second conspiracy involved a plan to rob the vault inside the same bank.  While planning the schemes, Bustamonte admitted to providing information about the layout of the bank, the bank’s security, and business operations occurring in the bank.  

The co-conspirator was Julio Ferrer, who pleaded guilty to robbing the TD Bank brand in Westfield.  He also admitted to robbing six other branches of the TD Bank throughout New Jersey from October 2011 to December 2011.  

The robbery at the TD Bank branch in Westfield occurred on September 11, 2011 at 2:21 p.m.  Ferrer enter the bank on 560 North Avenue East and proceeded to pass a deposit slip across the counter.  The teller was counting money at the time and returned the slip back to Ferrer after they failed to see the handwriting on the slip or the requested monetary amount.  Ferrer pushed the slip back across the counter and stated, “read it.”  The note stated, “I want all the money lose (sic) bills.”  The teller stepped back and Ferrer grabbed all of the money the teller was counting.  

Bustamonte told authorities he discussed how to rob the vault with Ferrer and several other people.  In return, he was going to receive $50,000.  He also told Ferrer to ask for “loose bills” instead of strapped money.

Bustamonte faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.  He will be sentenced on February 5, 2013.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 4, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that George Chrysanthopoulos of Little Silver, New Jersey was indicted for paying $350,000 in kickbacks to the New Jersey Department of Transportation and a private port terminal operator as well.  He is believed to have paid the kickbacks and bribes in order to receive construction contracts worth millions of dollars.  

According to the indictment, Chrysanthopoulos paid cash bribes to a private terminal operator in Port Elizabeth between the years of 2002 and 2008 in order to obtain construction contracts for his company, Tarheel Enterprises Inc.  Chrysanthopoulos agreed to pay the employee $20,000 for every $5 million that Tarheel made from the terminal operator.  

The same employee began working with law enforcement and he arranged meetings with Chrysanthopoulos between February 2011 and April 2011.  During the meetings, the employee and Chrysanthopoulos discussed the kickbacks and about $150 million in construction projects.  The following statement was recorded: “We could do the same thing like we did last time, George…like for every $5 million, I get 20 grand, boom…I’ll be happy, man.”  Chrysanthopoulos responded with the following statement: “I know what the parameters are…20 per give.”  

During the same meeting, Chrysanthopoulos gave names of bidders that would be invited to a 2011 project bid.  The FBI reports that Chrysanthopoulos paid about $48,000 in bribes to a NJDOT engineer in order to receive the engineer’s influence for $44 million contract that was eventually awarded to Tarheel.

Chrysanthopoulos faces a combined maximum sentence of 100 years in prison.  He also faces a $250,000 penalty for each count of mail and wire fraud.  Prosecutors are asking that Chrysanthopoulos forfeit $17 million of the proceeds.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey Bartle is prosecuting this case.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation