Eight Charged with Trafficking 1,300 Pounds of Cocaine in Northeast Ohio

USPA NEWS - First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury returned a 22-count superseding indictment charging eight individuals for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed approximately 611 kilograms, or more than 1,300 pounds, of cocaine throughout Northeast Ohio.

Named in the superseding indictment are Marc Mahoney, 43, of North Royalton, Hosea Lock, 53, of Cleveland, Jesse Bojorquez, 38, of Chula Vista, California, Jerome McGinns, 47, of Cleveland, Ohio, Marquis Glenn, 36, of South Euclid, Ohio, Desmond Smith, 31, of Westlake, Ohio, Deshon Knowles, 38, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Sammy Abraham, 60, of Cleveland, Ohio.

Law enforcement authorities with the United States Marshals Service arrested defendants McGinnis, Glenn, Knowles, and Abraham in connection with the unsealing of the superseding indictment. Defendants Mahoney, Lock and Bojorquez were previously arrested in January of 2022 pursuant to charges alleged in a criminal complaint. Smith was arrested on May 18, 2022, pursuant to charges alleged in a separate criminal complaint.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and use of a communications facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. In addition, defendant Mahoney is charged with additional counts of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Defendant Bojorquez is charged with an additional count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering. Defendant Smith is charged with additional counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, from January 2019 to May 2022, defendant Mahoney allegedly obtained large quantities of cocaine from Mexico, which he then redistributed to the named defendants to be further distributed throughout Northeast Ohio.

It is alleged that Mahoney distributed approximately 611 kilograms of cocaine to defendants Lock, McGinnis, Glenn and Smith to be redistributed in Northeast Ohio. Smith further distributed cocaine and cocaine base to defendants Knowles and Abraham to be redistributed. In return, the defendants allegedly provided Mahoney with a combined approximate total of nearly $20 million in proceeds, which Mahoney then sent back to Mexico. On January 20, 2022, the indictment states that Mahoney delivered $2,399,585.00 of cocaine sales proceeds to Bojorquez, in Cleveland, Ohio, for transportation back to Mexico.

The conspirators are also accused of using cell phones and coded language to obscure and disguise their drug trafficking activity.

On January 20, 2022, investigators executed a search warrant at Mahoney’s residence and at a storage unit associated with Bojorquez. During the execution of the warrants, investigators obtained more than $2.4 million in U.S. currency, a drug ledger and approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine. Mahoney allegedly used the ledger to record his drug transactions.

The indictment also alleges that to conceal the proceeds of his cocaine sales, Mahoney conspired with Rueben Schwartz, 49, of Conneaut, Ohio, to purchase properties in Conneaut with cash derived from Mahoney’s drug trafficking activities. Mahoney allegedly paid Schwartz cash for the properties and the two worked together to conceal the true amount paid.

Schwartz was charged in a separate indictment with money laundering on May 25, 2022, for his role in the scheme.

This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

If convicted, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violations.

In all cases, sentences will not exceed the statutory maximums, and in most cases, will be less than the maximums.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Westshore Enforcement Bureau, the Westlake Police Department, the Conneaut Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rocky River Police Department, the North Olmstead Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Kolansky.

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Wendy writes for the United States Press Agency and is a former columnist with the Fulton County Expositor, Wauseon, Ohio.

Source: Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio press release June 2, 2022