Articles Posted in Drug Offenses

It would appear that it is that time again…time for a new fancy named police operation. This time, the target is the drug trade. This time it yielded at least 20 defendants. This time, it was “Operation Rodeo”. Here is Attorney Sam’s take on it.

Operation Rodeo was a three-year-long probe into alleged drug trafficking which is said to have stretched from Springfield to Lawrence. According to law enforcement, this criminal investigation was sparked by the discovery of $2.7 million in a tractor-trailer. The operation was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administrating (“DEA”). It targeted 39 individuals all together. On Monday, 20 of those targeted were arrested. They are expected to all have appeared in Boston’s federal court today and tomorrow.

The 97-page affidavit which was filed with the court indicates that this was a multi-pronged investigation which targeted alleged stash houses and drug dens in Lawrence, Haverhill, Springfield, Billerica and Charlestown. Law Enforcement adds that the probe’s primary target, Julio Vincente, moved massive amounts of cocaine and heroin throughout Eastern Massachusetts using these locations. The alleged drug conspiracy was not limited to Massachusetts, but also involved other locations, such as Rhode Island and Mexico.

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley, this was the Hub’s biggest drug takedown in the last decade.

You may be wondering how such an investigation happens.

According to the affidavit filed with the court, DEA agents used a series of wiretaps, which apparently brought them to a restaurant owner, whom they claim to be a middleman, who was allegedly shipping cocaine from Mexico and distributing them to other dealers. The wiretap came into being when, in June, 2009, when state police tailed another unidentified target, who brought two “heavily weighted” suitcases to a Woburn hotel, where police later stopped a tractor-trailer with Florida plates and found $2,714,440. Said target, whose name has been redacted by law enforcement, led police to a “stash location” in Methuen where police found another soon-to-be defendant and, in various seizures, more than $1.1 million in alleged drug proceeds.

The complex investigation grew to identify runners and other dealers, leading to a series of traffic stops that produced 24 kilos in a van out of New York in July 2011, 400 grams in a December 2011 stop and another 130 kilos in another stop in June, the affidavit reads.

Each of the 20 defendants arrested face charges of conspiracy to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine and a kilo or more of heroin.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Search, Seizure And Drug Conspiracies

“

How do all these alleged conspirators get caught like this? It must be true that criminals are not very bright.”

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Juan Guzman, accused of running a multimillion-dollar drug ring from behind bars, has been arrested along with his sister and about a dozen others accused of being connected to the operation. On Monday, 100 Boston police officers and FBI agents moved in just after dawn in about twelve different locations across Boston, Milton and Canton. In doing so, they dismantled one of the largest drug investigations in Boston in over a decade.

Authorities seized about $500,000 and a large amount of cocaine, the exact quantity of which is still being calculated. Officials have described the organization as “highly organized” and “violent,” linking them to a number of incidents-including a triple homicide that occurred in 2010-within the Boston area.
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While we await word on the verdict from the Sandusky trial, other crime stories exist. Here is Attorney Sam’s Take on one of them.

As you will recall, security at airports has intensified in recent years.

This is particularly so the past 11 years since 2001. Personal liberties and privacy rights have taken knock after knock when it comes to security on a plane or in an airport.

Nevertheless, some people still seem to believe that they will never get caught (allegedly).

Take a certain man and woman who were arrested yesterday morning at Boston’s
Logan International Airport. At issue were the 500 grams of prescription
painkillers and approximately $9,000 recovered.

According to Suffolk County prosecutors, one of them had the drugs while the other had the money which was supposed to be used to purchase the drugs.

Somehow, law enforcement had some kind of information that the sale was supposed
to take place. The case is now pending in Charlestown District Court
Attorney Sam’s Take On Drug Trafficking And Airports

Actually, one thing this Boston criminal lawyer can tell you is that the defendants are lucky that the case looks like it will be prosecuted in state court. Because the crimes were happening in an airport, and it seems to be alleged that someone flew over from another state for the sale, it could be
brought in federal court.
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The verdict is in on the Roger Clemens criminal trial. So is the reaction. Here is Attorney Sam’s Take on it.

Mr. Clemens was charged with, essentially, perjury. This was the second time this case went to trial. Last time, it ended in a mistrial due to actions by the prosecution. Nevertheless, it was apparently worth it for the prosecution to spend our money further on this matter so they brought Clemens to trial again.

While the government touts the cause-at-issue to be critical, and describers it as part of the fight to get performance-enhancing drugs out of the sports arena, it is worth noting that this is not what Clemens was charged with. He was charged with lying about not using the drugs.

In any event, the jury acquitted Clemens this week on all charges.

“I’m very thankful,” Clemens said, choking up as he spoke after the verdict. “It’s been a hard five years,” said the pitcher, who was retried after an earlier prosecution ended in a mistrial.

Accused of cheating to achieve and extend his success – and then facing felony charges that he lied about it – he declared, “I put a lot of hard work into that career.”

His chief lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Clemens had to hustle to get to court in time to hear the verdict. “All of us had told Roger there wouldn’t be a verdict for two, three or four days, so he was actually working out with his sons almost at the Washington Monument when he got the call that there was a verdict.”
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In my last blog, I mentioned that we had an exclusive to reveal. At first, it may seem as though it has little to do with the criminal justice system. That, however, would be incorrect. I think the story to which it relates has a great deal to do with those who are supposed to be helping the blind lady hold the scales of Justice.

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, every member of the Senate and House Judiciary Committee received a little gift. The gift contained a copy of the book Mary’s Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision of World Peace by Peter Janney as well as a letter from Tony Lyons, the President Skyhorse Publishing, which published the book. The book is one which should and would, but for our complacency as a nation, prompt, severe and painstaking revisiting of our government and our “watchers”.

That sounds somber and too thought-provoking, especially in an election year, so, of course, that is not likely to happen. I am not running for public office, though, so I will bring the subject matter up to your attention and explain why it matters to you.

The letter contained a plea to the above recipients, as well as Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen, Jr. to open hearings regarding the 1964 murder case of Mary Pinchot Meyer.

The name of Mary Pinchot Meyer may, or may not, be familiar to you. She was a Washington artist who was also a mistress and confidante of the late President John F. Kennedy. This fact had already been established by previous publications. However, for reasons which are discoverable in the book, Mr. Janney was in a unique position to know Ms. Meyer and learn about the secrets behind her murder.

A murder, Janney’s evidence reveals, that was closely related to the murder of President Kennedy.

In fact, the painstakingly and detailed research reveals compellingly strong evidence that demonstrates the role of the CIA played in the 1964 murder of Ms. Meyer. Janney also demonstrates that Ms. was “terminated” by the CIA because of her intention to reveal what she knew about the role the Agency played in the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas eleven months earlier.

She was also about to debunk the results of the Warren Commission Report regarding the assassination and reveal , and subsequent cover- up that was then taking place.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Presumption Of Honesty Of Our Law Enforcement Leaders

“Sam…not another book about the Kennedy assassination!”

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Two 20-year-old UMass-Dartmouth students have been arrested on charges of possession of over $20,000 worth of drugs. According to news reports, detectives found and confiscated the following:

• 3.5 pounds of marijuana

• 35 grams of ecstasy

In case you were not aware of it, the police do not always simply lay in wait of alleged criminal activity. Sometimes they go out and target certain types of crimes. Such incidents are usually called “sweeps” and have fancy names for the operation.

Today’s story involves a sweep of alleged gang members.

In Holyoke, law enforcement arrested 20 people in a gang and drug sweep. It was a multi-agency criminal investigation

The sweep took place on Thursday. Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni announced that said suspects face a variety of drug charges. Further, six people who were already in custody face additional charges. Finally, arrest warrants were issued for four more people who remain at large.

The DA also announced that the criminal investigation into what he referred to a “La Familia gang” also resulted in the seizure of 3,300 bags of heroin, two guns and cocaine.

The DA says the sweep was part of an ongoing effort to interrupt the illegal drug trade in the city.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Sweeps, Gangs And “Mere Presence”

You do not need a Boston Criminal Lawyer to tell you that when these sweeps take place, anyone alleged to be carrying any drugs or guns are going to be arrested. The chief issue is likely to be whether the police had the right to the search and seizure involved. That is an issue we have discussed, and will discuss further, in future blogs.

Today, though, let’s discuss other issues that this story brings up.
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