RECORDS DETAIL COCAINE SCHEME

Sarasota Businessman Is Accused of Heading a Distribution Ring

SARASOTA -- Three men met at the Ritz-Carlton in February to talk
business -- the sale of several kilos of cocaine, and a way to
launder drug money to leave no trace of the crime -- according to
federal court records released Friday.

At the meeting, [Name redacted] , a manager of Khrome nightclub,
bragged his boss could launder the drug sale proceeds because he is a
"miracle worker" who owns all the Jackson Hewitt Tax Offices from
Tampa to Venice, the records show.

[Name redacted] boast was recorded by one of the men, a police
informant wearing a wire, as part of a yearlong investigation that's
still under way. It involves 10 kilograms of cocaine, $280,000 in
cash and wire transfers, and a Sarasota businessman now charged with
money laundering.

[Name redacted] was arrested on drug possession charges when he went
to a commercial storage warehouse to load the cocaine into his trunk,
the records say. The friend who drove him there, [Name redacted] , is
also charged.

The same day, agents searched the office of [Name redacted] , 56, of
Sarasota, owner of a Jackson Hewitt accounting office. [Name
redacted] is accused of being the head of a local drug distribution
ring, and faces charges that he laundered drug money through his
accounting business.

[Name redacted] , a felon who did time in a New York prison for a
tax-fraud scheme, is involved in dozens of local businesses run from
his Jackson Hewitt office at Clark and Beneva roads. He is also
president of an investment company and another firm called J.H.
Accounting, state records show.

The investigation into [Name redacted] started with a tip that he
provided money to buy large amounts of cocaine and ecstasy through
[Name redacted] , a manager at his two nightclubs, Khrome and Ecstasy.

At the meeting at the Ritz, the two informants gave [Name redacted] a
peek at $200,000 in cash, which earned them a meeting with [Name
redacted] , the court records show.

[Name redacted] was recorded discussing different ways he could
launder the money and transfer it to a bank account, explaining that
he would have to be able to prove where the money came from, the records show.

There was talk of setting up a fake loan, then providing
documentation that the loan had been paid off and then wiring the
money to them a few days later.

[Name redacted] agreed to launder the proceeds for a 10 percent
commission, the complaint states.

An undercover DEA agent delivered $100,000 of supposed drug money to
[Name redacted] two times with the informants, and both times [Name
redacted] wired $90,000 to an undercover DEA account from an account
belonging to J.H. Investment Services Inc., the records show.

On Oct. 10, an informant agreed to sell [Name redacted] 5 kilograms
of cocaine for $80,000, and the next day the undercover account
received a wire transfer for that amount from J.H. Investment Services.

Agents arranged the pickup at a commercial storage building on 17th
Street on Monday and put the cocaine in 5-pound cardboard barrels.
[Name redacted] was driving the car [Name redacted] arrived in.

[Name redacted] put one barrel in the trunk and [Name redacted] put a
second one in. Agents and detectives then arrested them, the records say.

[Name redacted] agreed to answer questions when his office was
searched that same day, and admitted to wiring the $80,000 to
purchase the cocaine, the complaint states.

[Begin Sidebar]

TIME LINE

Oct. 7, 2005 -- An informant tells federal agents [Name redacted] is
involved in selling cocaine and ecstasy at two nightclubs he owns,
Khrome and Ecstasy.

Feb 8 to March 22 -- Two informants, posing as drug dealers, offer to
sell cocaine to the manager of the two clubs, [Name redacted] , at
the Sarasota Ritz-Carlton.

Aug. 1 -- The informants, [Name redacted] and [Name redacted] hold a
second meeting at [Name redacted] Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. The
informants agree to sell [Name redacted] 40 kilograms of cocaine.
[Name redacted] also offers to launder the informant's drug profits
for a 10 percent commission.

Aug. 3 to Sept. 12 -- An undercover DEA agent delivers $100,000 of
supposed drug money to [Name redacted] two times, and both times
[Name redacted] wires $90,000 to an undercover DEA account from an
account belonging to J.H. Investment Services, Inc.

Oct. 10 to 11 -- An informant arranges to sell 5 kilograms of cocaine
to [Name redacted] for $80,000. J.H. Investment Services wires the
money to the DEA account. [Name redacted] arranges to take another 5
kilograms and pay the source at a later date.

Oct. 16 -- A source and an undercover DEA agent meet with [Name
redacted] and a friend of his at a commercial storage facility where
cocaine was hidden. Federal agents arrest [Name redacted] and his
friend as they load 10 kilograms of cocaine into the trunk of their
car. The agents then raid [Name redacted] Jackson Hewitt office.

Source: Special agent affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.