Story last updated at 8:55 PM on Wednesday, November 10, 2010

http://www.homernews.com/stories/111010/news_prc.shtml

An Anchor Point man is among 17 Kenai Peninsula residents charged by federal prosecutors last Friday with money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone. B.J. Griffith, 21, faces one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Griffith is alleged to have assisted an alleged organized crime drug ring based in Nevada by depositing money at Wells Fargo Bank in Homer. Griffith and other co-conspirators are alleged to have put in several bank accounts numerous deposits of $1,000 and more between July 2009 and October 2010.

The drug ring involved the distribution of more than 6,000 tablets of Oxycodone between Nevada and Alaska and the laundering of more than $1.2 million, according to Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Overall, 27 people were charged in the alleged conspiracy in Alaska and Nevada. Alaska arrests were made last Wednesday and Thursday. Twenty-five of the defendants are charged with money laundering conspiracy, and 14 of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone from July 2009 to October 2010.

Homer Police were aware of the investigation but not directly involved, said Homer Police Chief Mark Robl.

"I'm happy the case was resolved the way it was, and we got up to the person that was perpetuating it and not some small dealers," Robl said.

Oxycodone is a potent pain killer sold under the brand names OyxContin and Roxicodone. It's usually used for the relief of moderate and severe pain. Sold through pharmacies, it retails for between $2 and $20 a pill depending on pill size and insurance plan. In the illegal Alaska market, 30 mg pills sell for $30 to $50 each and 80 mg pills for $70 to $140 each. The conspirators are alleged to have smuggled pills to Alaska because of higher illegal prices here than in Nevada.

The defendants are charged in two separate criminal complaints filed in Nevada. A federal magistrate judge in Las Vegas unsealed the criminal complaints on Friday.

The Alaska defendants are: Frankie Dupuis, 30, Soldotna; Cathleen Eugenia Renney, referred to in the complaint as Kathleen Haley, 54, Sterling; John Covich, 29, Kenai; Anthony Diaz, 20, Kenai; Cinthia Morgan Spoonts, 26, Soldotna; Shannon Walker, 49, Soldotna; Melissa Cue, 33, Kenai; Jon Horsley, 22, Soldotna; Harley Rice, 30, Soldotna; Jonathan Gattenby, 27, Soldotna; Jodaci Vogel, 31, Soldotna; Kevin Gonzales, 48, Soldotna; John Skoog, 29, Wasilla; Ernest Gallagher, 36, Kenai; Griffith; Daniel Stevens Hall, 27, Kenai; Trevor Cunningham, 26, Soldotna; Alfred Jones, 47, Kenai and Shawn Newkirk, 43, Anchorage.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine on the drug trafficking charge, and up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on the money laundering charge.

The complaints state that beginning about June 2009, Nicholas Ghafouria, 26, of Las Vegas, and another Las Vegas resident, Ki Yong Parker, used prescriptions in their names to acquire approximately 6,200 tablets of Oxycodone, which were distributed in Alaska. The men are thought to have acquired prescriptions by doctor and pharmacy shopping, or going to multiple doctors and pharmacies.

Ghafouria also allegedly obtained Oxycodone through Las Vegas resident Demetha Jackson. The complaints allege that the other defendants worked for Ghafouria as money launderers and/or drug traffickers in Las Vegas and Soldotna, Kenai, Wasilla, Homer and Anchorage.

Ghafouria first came to Alaska State Trooper attention when he was pulled over for speeding on the Sterling Highway near Cooper Landing on Sept. 8, 2009. Troopers found seven bottles of prescription pills and marijuana in Ghafouria's car, but because he had legal prescriptions and a California medical marijuana card, he wasn't charged. Ghafouria had prescriptions from three doctors and pharmacies.

Kenai Police in June also received a tip from a citizen saying someone had sent odd text messages to the person's phone, apparently by mistake. One message read, "Hey, I got blue 30s for 40." Police allege the text message came from a cell phone number listed in Covich's name.

Some of the Alaska defendants allegedly sold the Oxycodone pills in Alaska, and deposited the drug proceeds in bank accounts in the names of Ghafouria and several co-conspirators. The drug money was then withdrawn by co-conspirators in Las Vegas.

The complaint alleges that from July 24, 2009, through Oct. 2, 2010, more than $1.2 million in cash proceeds from the distribution of Oxycodone was deposited into nine Las Vegas-based bank accounts controlled by Ghafouria and his co-conspirators.

It is alleged that Ghafouria attempted to legitimize the money earned from the drug distribution business by operating a custom motorcycle and paint shop named Alley Rat Custom Cycles in Las Vegas. The complaint states that Oxycodone pills were delivered to Ghafouria at Alley Rat, and that Ghafouria used people to transport the pills from the business to Alaska via commercial airlines. Drugs also were smuggled into Alaska by shipping through FedEx. Investigators intercepted one shipment hidden in toys.

A multi-agency task force investigated the alleged drug ring. Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna and Anchor Point assisted the investigation. Other agencies involved include the IRS Criminal Investigation in Las Vegas; the FBI in Las Vegas and Anchorage; the Drug Enforcement Agency in Las Vegas and Anchorage; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in Anchorage; Department of Homeland Security in Anchorage; Las Vegas OCDETF; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Alaska; Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement; Alaska Wildlife Troopers; Kenai Police Department; Anchorage, Kenai and Mat-Su Judicial Services; Kenai District Attorney's Office; Soldotna Police Department; Kenai Adult Probation; Alaska Department of Corrections; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Alaska National Guard.