December 2, 2008

Ex-Chicago firefighter admits role in drug ring!

According to abc news:
URBANA, Ill. -- A 38-year-old man has pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine to a central Illinois drug ring while he was a Chicago firefighter.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Sung Jin Jeon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and money laundering in federal court Monday in Urbana. Admitting he conspired with two other Chicago men to distribute the cocaine between 2004 and 2007. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison when he's sentenced in April.
According to court documents and information presented to Judge Michael McCuskey in court Monday, Jeon admitted he regularly supplied kilogram or more quantities of cocaine to a drug trafficking organization led by Olaitan Fowowe, 27, and Rashaud Harrell, 27.
Both of them earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine in Champaign and Urbana. They are scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Jeon also pleaded guilty to money laundering and agreed to forfeit $500,000.
Money from the drug sales was transported back to Fowowe and Harrell by another defendant, Sasha Daley, 24, of Chicago, and others. Daley is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 19.
Fowowe, evidence showed, directed the drug distribution while serving a sentence at an Illinois Department of Corrections work release center in Chicago from June 2006 to December 2007.
Investigation showed that Jeon admitted he and Fowowe agreed to launder Fowowe's drug money through businesses owned by Jeon. To make it appear that Fowowe was working while he lived at the work release center, Jeon falsely listed Fowowe as one of his employees. Fowowe then paid Jeon from drug proceeds, which Jeon partially redirected back to Fowowe by writing payroll checks and falsely claiming the checks were for payment of wages.
Rodger Heaton, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, said the cooperative investigation, which involved Champaign police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and others "effectively shut down a major pipeline that supplied cocaine to the local drug market for nearly five years."
Four other Chicago residents have pleaded guilty to being part of the drug-dealing network.
Olaitan Fowowe, Rashaud Harrell, Kristopher Davis and Sasha Daley are waiting to be sentenced.

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