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The money was laundered, in part, through an eBay business named Krush, NYC, LLC, federal authorities in Maryland said. Krush sold liquidated shoes, clothing and accessories, using a warehouse in Jessup, Maryland for business purposes and for distributing the marijuana, they said.
The ring was discovered after over a pound of pot, a money-counting machine, a tally sheet and money bands were found in a car involved in an accident in Maryland, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Balltimore said.
Gokahn Bergal, 29, of Clifton (photo, above) and Patrick Russo, 39, of Fairfield were described as members of an “innermost, trusted circle of lieutenants,” who participated in the operation.
Both were snatched up by federal agents earlier this week after being named in an indictment returned by a grand jury in Baltimore. Others were from Maryland, California, Texas and Minnesota.
Search warrants were also executed at 17 homes and businesses — including five in New Jersey — leading to the seizure of 60 pounds of mairjuana, $300,000 in cash, 35 firearms and 30 vehicles, federal authorities in Maryland said.
Those accused also trafficked in cocaine and “diverted” pharmaceuticals, along with steroids and other drugs, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore.
The investigation began after authorities found the pot and the cash-counting and wrapping materials following a single-car accident in Maryland on Jan. 7, 2012.
That, they said, led them to 40-year-old Kerem “Cashmir” Dayi of Maryland, who they said obtained up to 400 pounds of pot at a time from contacts in California, where he also kept a home.
Dari “direct[ed] the storage of marijuana at houses rented and managed by him and members of the organization, and direct[ed] the movement of marijuana and cash between Maryland, California, Ohio and New Jersey,” said U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
The marijuana was moved by a broker and distributor who operated out of Maryland, according to government affidavits.
Young women were required to fly to California with the handbags lined with cash, the addidavits say.
The money was first laundered a variety of ways, including by:
smuggling bulk cash in cars;
sending cash through the mail and commercial delivery services; structuring deposits into bank accounts and removing it from banks in other states;
investing money into, and removing money from, otherwise legitimate businesses operated by ring members.
The indictment seeks a money judgment of at least $10 million and the forfeiture of eight properties, 22 bank accounts, 24 vehicles, and the assets and inventory of three businesses.
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