Federal prosecutors in Cincinnati unsealed an 18-count indictment against eleven men accused of conspiring to bring hundreds of kilograms of marijuana from Texas into the Cincinnati area and shipping cash back.[1] Eight of the eleven charged are from Hamilton and Butler counties in southwest Ohio.[1] Three of the eleven charged are from the Brownsville, Texas, area.[1] Members of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force began arresting the accused men on the day the indictment was unsealed.[1] The eight in custody were to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Cincinnati, and agents were still seeking the other three.[1] The indictment had been returned on 25 July and was unsealed following the defendants’ arrests.[1]
All eleven are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, punishable by at least ten years and up to life in prison.[1] The indictment alleges that from 2006 Lee Wurzelbacher received shipments of marijuana concealed in the gas tanks of motor vehicles at Payless Autos on Pippin Road in Cincinnati.[1] Lee Wurzelbacher and Bryon Roos operated the used-car businesses Payless Auto Sales and Ace 1 Auto Sales to launder drug proceeds and give the appearance of legitimate income.[1] The marijuana was shipped to Ohio in crates containing tile and granite countertop bars by commercial freight companies and delivered to locations in Hamilton and Butler counties.[1] Reporting on the case said the marijuana was stored and processed at a Hamilton County farmhouse and a building in Fairfield, among other places.[2] The indictment alleges that the conspirators laundered the trafficking proceeds by purchasing eleven pieces of real estate and a boat.[1] Reporting on the case said $83,990 in cash was stashed inside the tire of a vehicle being towed to Texas.[2]
Bryon Roos was a 13-year veteran officer of the North College Hill police force.[3] Roos told the North College Hill police department about the allegations and was placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the case.[2] The indictment also charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, illegally structuring financial transactions and attempt to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.[1] The Justice Department stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.[1]
