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marijuana tucson

Tucson family drug bust: Wedoito’s Hotdogs front for marijuana, drug trafficking operation, feds say

A family business can be quite lucrative – provided you get along with your family. And also provided you pick a trade that rakes in the cash.

Seized semi/submitted photo

Drug trafficking is such a trade, and the cash – as well as jewelry, guns, snazzy vehicles another other amenities – were reportedly flowing in freely for an alleged Tucson family-run drug organization, according to a news release from the District of Arizona’s Office of the U.S. Attorney.

Then they got busted.

Eight family members were arrested Tuesday on federal charges they ran a conspiracy that set up false front businesses – like “Wedoito’s Hotdogs” – to hide their drug-trafficking ring which shipped multi-hundred pound loads of marijuana from Arizona to Ohio.

Feds believe Tucson’s own Jonathan Ortiz Troncoza, 39, headed the organization, and was assisted by various family members.

All told, the organization allegedly smuggled at least 6,000 pounds of marijuana while raking in, and laundering, up to $5 million in marijuana sales. This cash was reportedly used to run their business as well as buy or rent properties, jewelry, vehicles and “other items in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy.”

“Federal agents seized marijuana, over $700,000 cash, numerous vehicles (including a semi-tractor-trailer), guns, jewelry, and a house in the course of the investigation,” the release said.

The master plan

The first step in setting up a family-run drug ring is yoking family members to help run it. Then you pick out some catchy aliases and set up several fictitious businesses to make it seem like you’re really selling fish and Frankfurters instead of marijuana and cocaine.

Business names allegedly used by the arrested Tucson clan include “Sea of Cortez Seafood & Produce Distribution, LLC,” “AB Trucking,” the sweet and snappy “Wedoito’s Hotdogs, LLC,” and a few others.

Once money starts flowing in from the drug sales, you use that cash to rent warehouses and homes, as our conspirators allegedly did in Arizona and Ohio.

“Conspirators also purchased semi-tractor trailers which were used to transport thousands of pounds of marijuana (and multiple pounds of cocaine) from stash houses in Tucson and Phoenix areas to properties in Ohio,” the release noted.

Once your ring is all set up, you need to get a little crafty and creative with transportation and deposits.

Money earned from the organization’s lucrative marijuana sales was allegedly hidden and moved around the country on commercial airlines, tractor-trailers and other vehicles. The cash was also reportedly used to buy airline tickets, cell phones, put them up in hotels and pay for other things needed to “further the conspiracy.”

“The defendants also conspired to conduct financial transactions, including depositing thousands of dollars in drug proceeds into bank accounts controlled by the drug trafficking organization.”

Rented Tucson warehouse/submitted photo

How they got busted

Pay attention here. Getting busted is not part of a successful drug-trafficking business plan. Don’t get cocky. Don’t get sloppy. And don’t smuggle money through Phoenix.

Federal agents got wind of the conspiracy in 2005 when Jonathan Ortiz Troncoza and a “female companion” trekked through Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport with $181,790 cash hidden in two suitcases.

This prompted the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigations to kick off a five-year-plus investigation that lasted from March 2005 to June of this year.

“Operation Frozen Freight” was the catchy moniker for the investigation, which eventually froze the family business.

The charged:

The 15-count indictment was unsealed Tuesday when the eight arrested defendants made their initial appearance at the U.S. District Courthouse in Phoenix.

Arrested:

Jonathan Ortiz Troncoza, 39, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Promotional Money Laundering and Concealment Money Laundering

David Ortiz Troncoza, 41, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Promotional Money Laundering

Yvonne Teresa Troncoza-Martinez, 38, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Promotional Money Laundering

Kathy Ann Troncoza-Valenzuela, 41, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Promotional Money Laundering

Nina Francine Troncoza-Celaya, 32, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

Manuel Martin Garcia, 34, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

Manuel Alejandro Alvarez, 35, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

Juan Fonseca-Cantallops, 41, Buckeye
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Concealment Money Laundering and Concealment Money Laundering

Not arrested, will be summoned to court:

Drusilla Ortiz Troncoza, 61, Tucson
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Concealment Money Laundering.

Not arrested since she was reported dead:

Anna Graciela Goncalvez-Mendez, 41, Naco
Violations: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Concealment Money Laundering, Concealment Money Laundering and Engaging in Monetary Transactions

Possible penalties, if convicted

Charge: maximum penalty

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana: 10 years to life, a $4,000,000 fine or both

Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana: 40 years, a $2,000,000 fine or both

Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Conspiracy to Commit Concealment Money Laundering, Promotional Money Laundering, Concealment Money Laundering (each separate charge has same possible penalty): 20 years, a $500,000 fine or two times the value

Engaging in Monetary Transactions: 10 years or a $250,000 fine or two times the value.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge G. Murray Snow will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

[tnipoll]

The credits

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the IRS-Criminal Investigations Division, and included the participation of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshal’s Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol. The FBI, U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Arizona Department of Public Safety. Local police agencies that assisted include the Mesa, Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe and Tucson Police Departments; the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The investigation was also made possible by the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Imperial Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Arizona, Nevada and Ohio and various DEA offices throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) provided extensive analysis of documents seized during the investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by Karen S. McDonald, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

What do you think?

Would you ever go into business, legal or otherwise, with your own family?

Will you forever remember Wedoito’s Hotdogs?

Filed Under: blogski, crime, danger, death, life, police, fire, law, stupidity Tagged With: crime, danger, drug bust tucson, drug trafficking tucson, illegal, Jonathan Ortiz Troncoza, marijuana bust tucson, marijuana tucson, ortiz troncoza, ryn gargulinski, rynski, sick, tucson, tucson crime, tucson family drug bust, tucson family drug organization, twisted, wedoito's hotdogs

Would the world be a better place if we all smoked pot?

The world is filled with so much hate, rage and bitterness it’s enough to make us cry.

Pot shirt party goer/Ryn Gargulinski file photo
Pot shirted party goer/Ryn Gargulinski file photo

Daily headlines scream about bombings, brutality and bloodshed. Neighbors hate neighbors and strangers hate friends.

But there may be a simple way to turn all that bitterness and rage into peace and harmony – just hand everyone a joint.

After all, pot is known to make people happy, generous and loving. We don’t recall any stories of pot-smoking hippies tearing each other’s hair out. That Manson thing was just a fluke.

For the record, I am not a fan of pot, or any drug for that matter. Drugs have ruined too many lives.

But let’s look, just for a moment, at all the compelling pot information put forth on Drug War Facts. This website is run by Common Sense for Drug Policy which is “dedicated to reforming drug policy.”

Yes, we know the site is slanted to only show pot’s benefits – we’re making a pro argument here.

And after checking out some of the site’s fast facts, it makes sense not only to make marijuana legal for medicinal purposes, but for any adult who wants some.

Marijuana may be less harmful to us than some stuff we already eat, the site tells us. And we’re not talking about deep-fried Twinkies or greasy drive-through fries. We’re talking vegetables.

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume,” says Francis Young, the DEA’s administrative law judge. “For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.”

Even lab rats don’t die from the stuff. Heck, Drug War Facts said you can inject 1,000 milligrams per kilogram of marijuana into rats, mice, dogs and even monkeys and they don’t drop dead. That translates to a 132-pound person eating a whole 2 ounces of pot with no ill effects.

We’re not sure why people would be eating pot rather than smoking it, but we do know that five deaths originally attributed to marijuana in Britain were found to have other causes. Drug War Facts says the five didn’t die from pot, but from choking on their own vomit, presumably after passing out and puking.

See how safe marijuana can be?

Decked out VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski file photo
Decked out VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski file photo

And we didn’t even get into the traffic statistics. Marijuana could actually help some drivers do better on the road.

“…Cannabis consumption either increases driving ability or, more likely, drivers who use cannabis make adjustments in driving style to compensate for any loss of skill,” Drug War Facts said.

In other cases, marijuana poses absolutely no risk on the road whatsoever.

“Cannabis is only considered a risk factor for traffic accidents if drivers operate vehicles after consuming the drug.”

There we have it.

In addition to bettering traffic, a society full of pot smokers could benefit the economy.

The first savings would be, of course, a major cost reduction in the more than $30 billion government spends annually on the drug war. Taking marijuana out of the mix would shave off a few dollars for sure.

More jobs would be on the market. We’d have gads of new pot packaging and processing plants as well as openings from those who decide to now smoke pot daily. Some may quit their jobs when they realize they could legally sit around getting stoned all day while others would likely be fired when tasks that used to take them two minutes began to take them two hours.

The economy would get a major boost from marijuana taxes. If pot taxes were anywhere near the astronomical ones levied on cigarettes and booze, the government could make up a good chunk of funds wasted on the drug war in the blink of a bloodshot eye.

Society would become one big well-oiled machine.

Folks who smoke pot are generally not violent like those on PCP, don’t start dumb fights like angry drunks, don’t make weird sniffing noises like the coke fiends, and don’t hold up gas stations like those with rabid crack habits.

They are not prone to spreading AIDS like needle-happy heroin addicts and don’t lose all their teeth like the meth heads.

The argument stands that pot smokers are usually peaceful, harmonious folks – who even know how to drive.

Please note: I am still not sure if making pot legal would make society any better – but I am wholly impressed that pot only poses a road hazard if you drive after smoking it.

Cartoon by CHRIS EDWARDS, UA student who drew it for English class on public argument
Cartoon by CHRIS EDWARDS, UA student who drew it for an English class on public argument


[tnipoll]

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Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who likes VW buses. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com and Rynski.Etsy.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.


logoWhat do you think?

Should pot be legal in Arizona?

Should it be legal everywhere?

Should all drugs be legal – or should we get rid of everything, even alcohol?

WOULD the world be a better place if everyone smoked pot?

Filed Under: blogski, crime, danger, death, environment, life Tagged With: danger, death, drug war tucson, funky, gross, hippies pot, hippies tucson, illegal drugs, kooky, legal drugs, make pot legal, marijuana benefits, marijuana detriments, marijuana tucson, medical marijuana, odd pueblo, pot benefits, pot detiments, pot legal, pot smoking legal, pot tucson, prohibition tucson, rynski column, sick, smoking pot, tucson crime, tucson drugs, twisted

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