LawFuel – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, John F. Timoney, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, and Robert Parker, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced the unsealing of a multi-count Indictment charging twenty-one individuals in connection with their role in a crack and powder cocaine distribution ring.
This multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation has successfully disrupted and dismantled a crack and powder cocaine distribution ring operating in parks and neighborhoods in and around the Allapattah area of Miami from August of 2007 until the present. The twenty-one individuals charged, were indicted on August 28, 2008. The indictment charged defendants Pablo Mendez-Trenches, a/k/a “Maka,” Felipe Jesus Nunez, a/k/a “Chocolaté,” Silvia Maria Zayas, a/k/a “China,” Ricardo Terry Domech, a/k/a “Eugenio Arguin,” a/k/a “Polopui,” a/k/a “Puntilla,” Antonio M. Cruz-Ramirez, a/k/a “Tony,” Lazaro Soto-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Charlie Chaplin,”Aris Lara Jr., a/k/a “Gordo,” Gerardo Pendas-Mechado, a/k/a “Rogelio,” a/k/a “Rogelito,” Felix Herrera-Cartaya, Belinda Bernal, a/k/a “La Gorda,” Sergio Segon, Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez, a/k/a “Rashy,” Maximo L. Carriera, Felicia Triana, a/k/a “Comadre,” Flor Illiana Torres, a/k/a “Mima,” Carlos Albert Pujol, Yajaira Rojas, a/k/a “La Loca,” Vivian Guerra, Juan Xique, a/k/a “Juanito,” Martina Roman, a/k/a “Amada,” and Maritza Garcia-Duartes, with conspiracy to possess crack and/or powder cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846. In addition, several of the defendants were charged with the distribution of crack and powdered cocaine. Two other defendants, Felipe Jesus Nunez, a/k/a “Chocolaté,” and Silvia Maria Zayas, a/k/a “China,” are charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). If convicted, the defendants face possible sentences ranging from 20 years’ to life imprisonment. The defendants will make their initial appearances in federal court on Monday, September 8, 2008.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, ATF, Miami Police Department, and Miami-Dade Police Department for their work in this investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. Cooley.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
