Pubdate: Thu, 15 Mar 2007
Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times (OR)
Copyright: 2007 Lee Enterprises
Contact: http://www.mvonline.com/support/contact/GTedletters.php
Website: http://www.gazettetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2976
Author: Gwyneth Gibby, Gazette-Times reporter
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our 
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who 
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise 
public figures or officials.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

POLICE BUST DRUG RING

Large Quantities Of Meth, Cocaine Were Moved Through City, Authorities Say

Law-enforcement officers staged a dozen simultaneous raids across the 
central Willamette Valley in the predawn hours of Wednesday, 
arresting 11 people and breaking up what they called the biggest 
drug-trafficking operation in the history of Benton County.

The raids, which occurred at 4 a.m. in residences and businesses in 
Corvallis, Albany, Independence, Creswell and Springfield, were part 
of an operation authorities code-named "Ice-Breaker," an 
investigation that Corvallis police launched in November 2005. Later 
in the morning, seven more locations were searched. Authorities said 
that they seized cash, weapons and methamphetamine in at least some 
of the raids, but didn't release details on Wednesday.

The suspects were arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Benton County 
Circuit Court Judge David Connell. Connell set bond for the three 
suspects authorities identified as the key players at $10 million 
each. Bond for the other suspects was set at $1 million each.

"These are individuals who are poisoning our community with meth, at 
what we could consider unprecedented levels," said District Attorney 
John Haroldson. "Every person who struggles with an addiction is fed 
by organizations like this."

Said Corvallis Police Capt. Jon Sassaman: "In this case, we believe 
that in a given week there are anywhere from six to 10 pounds of 
methamphetamine being distributed through Corvallis. In addition to 
that, one to two kilos of cocaine. A week."

That exceeds previously known amounts handled by Benton County drug 
dealers by several orders of magnitude.

For example, the total amount of methamphetamine seized in Corvallis 
in all of 2005 -- a record year -- was 691 grams, or about 1.5 pounds.

"Historically, if we came across several ounces of meth, it was big 
for this jurisdiction," Sassaman said, "and that's a big case for any 
jurisdiction."

"This case absolutely compares and is on an equal playing field with 
that of what the DEA would encounter or what another larger agency 
would encounter," he said.

The three key suspects were identified as [Name redacted], 41, 
Creswell; [Name redacted], 30, Independence; and [Name redacted], 27, 
Albany. [Name redacted] was charged with two counts of racketeering, 
accusing him of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The two 
[Name redacted] brothers were both charged with one count of money 
laundering, a class B felony, and racketeering -- specifically, that 
they conspired to distribute methamphetamine.

[Name redacted] ran La Poderosa Mexican Store on Northwest Ninth 
Street in Corvallis. [Name redacted] ran Del Valle, a similar store 
in Independence. And [Name redacted], who according to court 
documents was supplying the [Name redacted] brothers with drugs, ran 
Gregorio's Auto Body shop on Highway 99W, south of Corvallis. 
Law-enforcement officials said the businesses were serving as fronts 
for illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.

The other defendants all face one charge each of racketeering. They are:

[Name redacted], 36, Albany

[Name redacted], 32, Albany

[Name redacted], 27, Eugene

[Name redacted], 32, Corvallis

[Name redacted], 37, Albany

[Name redacted], 21, Albany

[Name redacted], 35, Albany

The 11th man arrested, 28-year-old [Name redacted]of Corvallis, was 
not arraigned on Wednesday. Authorities said they did not have an 
arrest warrant for [Name redacted] on Wednesday, as they did with the 
other defendants, and likely would arraign [Name redacted] sometime this week.

No pleas were entered during the arraignments, and different court 
dates were set for each defendant. Some will reappear in court as 
early as today. None appeared with an attorney. All of the defendants 
requested court-appointed attorneys, but Connell denied most of those 
requests. Most of the defendants spoke Spanish and were accompanied 
by a translator.

Racketeering is a class A felony with a maximum possible sentence of 
20 years in prison and a fine of up to $375,000. Money laundering is 
a class B felony with a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in 
prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Court documents filed by prosecutors asked for the large bond amounts 
because of the large amount of money allegedly generated by the 
organization. Court documents indicated that one traffic stop of 
suspects in the case had produced as much as $15,000 in cash, a kilo 
of cocaine and 11 pounds of marijuana.

Outside the courtroom, Haroldson vowed to prosecute the cases to the 
full extent of the law. And Haroldson, who is Mexican-American, noted 
that all the defendants were Hispanic. "This type of criminal 
activity gives all Hispanics a bad name," he said.

The investigation began in November 2005, but officials declined to 
say Wednesday how the investigation started.

Nevertheless, as Corvallis police investigators gathered material, it 
became clear that the drug-trafficking operation was being run out of 
Corvallis. It also became clear that it was bigger than anything the 
agency had dealt with before. Corvallis officers called the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Agency.

"They had first right of refusal," Sassaman said.

But the DEA's resources were already overtaxed, so the agency told 
Corvallis police that it couldn't take the case.

"And so we were faced with 'do nothing' -- which really was not an 
option," Sassaman said.

He said Corvallis police decided to devote the resources and 
investigate the case themselves, with the help of state agencies and 
law enforcement in the other jurisdictions where the drug traffickers 
allegedly were working.

The Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Police Meth Initiative 
Task Force, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Albany Police Department, 
Independence Police Department, Polk County Sheriff's Office, Bend 
narcotics investigators, the Douglas County Interagency Narcotics 
Team and Immigration and Customs Enforcement all played a major role 
in the investigation and in the searches and arrests Wednesday.

In an independent investigation, the DEA did its own raids Wednesday 
in Eugene. Officers working on each investigation were aware of the 
other investigation and coordinated their dates so as not to alarm 
each other's suspects. But the drug-trafficking organizations did not 
overlap, according to Sassaman.

"I am extremely proud of the work that the multi-agency 
law-enforcement teams did investigating this case," Haroldson said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Stringer has handled the case 
for the office, and has made an exceptional effort, according to Haroldson.

"A case like this means that people must invest a tremendous amount 
of themselves, with personal sacrifice," Sassaman said. "This team 
has done that."

Early morning raids target 12 locations

It's 4 a.m. just inside the Albany city limits.

A small house sits at a bend in the road on a narrow strip of land 
with Highway 20 in front and railroad tracks immediately behind. Cars 
traveling between Corvallis and Albany occasionally whoosh by. A 
parking lot lies beside the house. There are half a dozen vehicles in 
it -- mostly SUVs and pickups -- one so rusted it probably hasn't 
been driven in months, if not years.

Oregon state troopers move in silently to block the highway. As a 
SWAT team enters the house and secures it, the troopers hear crashing 
through the woods and think that perhaps suspects were on the run. 
But it's only the sound of deer fleeing.

The Albany house was one of 12 locations, from Corvallis to 
Independence and Creswell to Albany, raided at 4 a.m. Wednesday by 
Oregon state police as authorities targeted a drug ring they said 
spanned the mid-Willamette Valley. Seven more sites were searched as 
the morning progressed.

About 120 officers from multiple agencies were involved with the 
operation. In Corvallis, 25 people gathered in a command post at the 
Law Enforcement Center and coordinated the simultaneous raids.

Corvallis Police Capt. Dan Hendrickson, whose patrol officers were 
out on the raids, said officers faced real risks.

"Where there are drugs, there are guns," he said. "Where there is one 
gun, there are two guns."

A knock on the door woke Clifford Hall and his family at 4 a.m. in 
their house on Highway 99W south of Corvallis. Hall opened the door 
to find two deputies from the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

"They were very polite," Hall said. "They asked how many people were 
in the house."

Then they told Hall and his girlfriend and four kids to stay together 
in a front room. The next thing the family heard was "Bang, bang, 
bang!" as a SWAT team broke into the building about 15 feet behind their house.

Hall lives on the same property as Gregorio's Auto Body, a business 
suspected of being involved in the drug ring and operated by one of 
the people authorities accused of being a key player in the ring, 
[Name redacted].

Hall and his family have lived there for four months.

"When we first moved in it was normal," he said.

There were a couple of guys working there -- but not doing much work, 
Hall said. The same cars that had been in the yard when Hall moved in 
were still sitting there Wednesday, untouched. Hall said [Name 
redacted] told him that his crew was in Mexico.

Then about a month and a half ago, activity at the site picked up. 
Hall said men would be at the site in the middle of the night.

"So many people in and out, I couldn't tell you (how many)," Hall said.

On some nights he could smell something strong coming from the 
building right behind his house. Corvallis Police Capt. Jon Sassaman 
said he and his team thought there might be a methamphetamine lab 
located on the property. A search Wednesday did not turn up a lab, however.

Half a dozen drug-sniffing dogs from across the state were brought in 
to search the multiple locations. Officers spent the day Wednesday 
patiently combing through each site. Some of the sites will take days 
to completely process.

"We do expect to have more arrests in the coming days and weeks," 
Sassaman said. "We would expect that there may be additional search 
warrants served."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman