THREE PLEAD GUILTY IN EXPANSIVE DRUG RING

'Franchise' Sold Cocaine, Ecstasy

John H. Cao pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal drug conspiracy
charge involving cocaine and Ecstasy distribution, then was escorted
in handcuffs from U.S. District Court.

With that, the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed its biggest catch
among 16 suspects arrested so far in a federal drug conspiracy
investigation dubbed Operation Bean Counter.

Federal prosecutors said Cao, 29, was the leader of a Pensacola-based
cell in a drug ring dealing in large amounts of cocaine and Ecstasy.

Texas and Louisiana were part of the distribution network, which was
connected to a larger operation based in Vietnam, court records showed.

On Tuesday, Peter "Ti Bo" Hoang, 22, and his younger brother, Paul
"Smoke" Hoang, 19, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges.

Cao and Peter Hoang also admitted to criminal information on money
laundering, for which they were not yet indicted, court records
showed. Paul Hoang admitted to criminal information on firearm
possession, U.S. court records show.

Len Register, managing assistant U.S. attorney, said that
procedurally, a guilty plea to a criminal information has the same
effect as pleading guilty to an indictment. All that remains then is
sentencing for those pleas.

Paul Hoang, Peter Hoang and John Hoang Cao are scheduled for
sentencing on Dec. 20 and face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10
years to life in prison on the drug conspiracy charges.

The three were part of an intricate organization directed out of
Vietnam that shipped large amounts of drugs to the United States,
where the drugs were sold to "cells" or "franchises" for street-level
distribution, federal prosecutor Thomas Swaim said in U.S. District
Court.

Cao had set up an illegal drug "franchise" in Pensacola, with Peter
Hoang in charge of dealing cocaine and Ecstasy, assisted by his
younger brother, Paul, court records indicated.

Seven other men pleaded guilty Sept. 28 in the case.

They were Marshal Reid Borja, 20, of Milton; Chieu Manh Nguyen, 24, of
Texas; Perry Stean Williams, 34; Jerry Lewis Knight, 34; and Jason A.
Fenton, 22; all of Pensacola; Dung Fu Nguyen, 24, and Hai Minh Ho, 27,
both with unavailable addresses.

The seven men face sentences of 10 years to life in prison. Sentencing
dates are set for Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 in those cases.

Register declined to comment on the number of arrests pending and
other details in the case because the investigation is not yet concluded.

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In an 83-page affidavit, Drug Enforcement Agent John Johnson detailed
cell phone calls between John Cao and his cohorts and the complex
tactics the group employed.

According to the affidavit:

Cao switched cell phones regularly to cover his tracks.

The men used words like, "booking DJ's," "barbecued ribs," "shirts for
a wedding" and "Versace" as code for drug transactions, Johnson stated.

Law enforcement officers watched as members of the ring transferred
drugs and money at diverse places, including convenience stores, a
west-side strip club and a bowling alley.

An informant told investigators that between November 2004 and January
2005, Cao stored more than 160,000 Ecstasy tablets and 12 kilograms of
cocaine at a home in New Orleans.

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