Operations
Pipe Dreams And Headhunter Put Illegal Drug Paraphernalia Sellers
Out Of Business
National Sweep Shuts Down Retailers, Distributors
and Internet Sites
from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Website
(paid for by your tax dollars)
posted at DrugWar.com
Feb. 25, 2003
Operation Pipe Dreams news conference.
Appearing from left to right: Attorney General John Ashcroft,
ONDCP Director John Walters, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan,
and Acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown.
WASHINGTON, DC -- Attorney General John Ashcroft
and Acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown, III today announced
the indictment of 50 individuals on charges of trafficking in
illegal drug paraphernalia. The charges are the culmination of
two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams
and Operation Headhunter and include indictments against national
distributors of drug paraphernalia and businesses
nationwide. DEA offices in Boise, Idaho; Des Moines, Iowa; Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; and Dallas and Tyler, Texas were involved in these
investigations.
"With the advent of the Internet, the
illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," Ashcroft
said. "The drug paraphernalia business is now accessible
in anyone's home with a computer and Internet access. And in homes
across America we know that children and young adults are the
fastest growing Internet users. Quite simply, the illegal drug
paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across
the country without their
knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer
be ignored by law enforcement. Today, the Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force,
under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson
and Associate Deputy Attorney General Karen Tandy, has taken decisive
steps to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by
attacking their physical, financial and Internet infrastructures."
The defendants have been charged with conspiracy
to sell and offering to sell various types of drug paraphernalia,
in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sections
846, 853 and 863. Federal law defines drug paraphernalia as those
products that are primarily intended or designed to be used in
ingesting, inhaling or otherwise using controlled substances,
and include user-friendly and dealer-friendly devices. Items such
as miniature scales, substances for
"cutting" or diluting raw narcotics, bongs, marijuana
pipes, roach clips, miniature spoons and cocaine freebase kits,
among other things, are all
considered drug paraphernalia.
All the defendants knowingly, intentionally
and unlawfully sold the items for use with illegal narcotics.
Many of the items were disguised as common
objects such as hi-liters and lipsticks to elude detection as
drug paraphernalia and were marketed using code names and symbols.
"People selling drug paraphernalia are
in essence no different than drug dealers," said Acting Administrator
Brown. "They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers
are a part of criminal homicide. These criminals operate a multimillion
dollar enterprise, selling their paraphernalia in
headshops, distributing out of huge warehouses, and using the
worldwide web as a worldwide paraphernalia market. With Operations
Pipe Dreams and Headhunter, these criminals are out of business
and 11 illicit dot.coms are
dot.gone."
"Each of us standing here today took
an oath of office to uphold and enforce our nation's laws,"
said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy.
"The aggressive marketing of the tools and paraphernalia
of drug use is illegal and has been an active affront to the efforts
of parents, educators, and community leaders who are trying to
help young people stay away from dangerous drugs. Today's actions
send a clear and unambiguous message to those who would poison
our children: We will bring you to justice, and we will act decisively
to protect our young people from the harms of illegal drugs. I
applaud the hard work of the Justice Department,
the U.S. Attorneys, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, who
have provided an important and welcome boost to our drug prevention
efforts, and reaffirm the truth that no community, no city, no
state, and no nation is
better off with more drug use."
Federal law provides for a maximum total
sentence of three years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both,
with respect to each count set forth in the
indictments.
OPERATION PIPE DREAMS
The investigation leading to the indictments in this case was
led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with the U.S. Marshals Service,
U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration
and Naturalization Service, Pennsylvania State Police, City of
Pittsburgh Police, Allegheny County (Pa.) Sheriff, Stowe Township
Police, Chippewa (Pa.) Police Department and the Duquesne (Pa.)
Police Department.
The individuals named in the indictments
are:
Joyce J. Adamy, a/k/a Joyce J. Kunkle, and
d/b/a Phantasm, age 27, of Johnstown, PA.;
Jodey P. Bayle, d/b/a Pipe Emporium, d/b/a Sunrise Distribution,
and d/b/a Pipesforyou.com, 48, of Erie, PA.;
Glen W. Beers, d/b/a G.W. Pipedreams, 29, of Clarion, PA.;
William A. Conover, d/b/a B&M Variety, 42, of Erie, PA.;
Christina A. Cummings, d/b/a Phantasm, 28, of Johnstown, PA.;
Michael Anthony Deblasio, d/b/a Heads-N-Threads, 24, of North
Huntingdon, PA.;
Jason Robert Harris, d/b/a Jerome Baker Designs, Inc., d/b/a Ghettoweb,
Inc., d/b/a Universal Glass, Inc., d/b/a Jeromebaker.com, d/b/a
Ghettoweb.com, d/b/a Smokelab.com, and d/b/a Higher Source, 32,
of Eugene, OR.;
Richard Kevin Jaussen, d/b/a Tela Ropa, Inc., 48, of Pittsburgh,
PA.;
Ara Melkizian, d/b/a Omnilounge L.L.C., and d/b/a Omnilounge.com,
29, of
North Hollywood, CA.
Saeed Mohtadi, d/b/a Jerome Baker Designs, Inc., d/b/a Ghettoweb,
Inc.,
d/b/a Universal Glass, Inc., d/b/a Jeromebaker.com, d/b/a Ghettoweb.com,
d/b/a Smokelab.com, and d/b/a Higher Source, 32, of Eugene, OR.;
John Matthew Patrick, d/b/a California Colorchangers, Inc., and
d/b/a
Colorchangingglass.com, 38, of Forestville, CA.;
Randolph Przekop, d/b/a Slacker, Inc., 36, of Pittsburgh, PA.;
Ahmad Rakine, d/b/a A&E Wholesalers, Inc., 20, of Pembroke
Pines, FL.;
Eric M. Rodgers, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 32, of Phoenix, AZ.;
Edward Ian Rothschild, d/b/a Edward Rothschild Entertainment,
Inc., d/b/a
Rothschild Consulting, Inc., d/b/a Gothic Dungeon, d/b/a 420now.com,
d/b/a
420smile.com, d/b/a Gothicdungeon.com, d/b/a Testingfree.com,
and d/b/a
Themallusa.com, 48, of Columbia, SC;
David V. Stone, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 38, of Phoenix, AZ.;
Mary Louise Stone, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 58, of Glendale,
AZ.;
Ryan Vaughn Struble, d/b/a Headcase, and d/b/a Aheadcase.com,
30, of
Diamond Bar, CA;
Ryan Teurfs, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House,
and d/b/a
101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;
Inez M. Thompson, d/b/a Pipe Emporium, d/b/a Sunrise Distribution,
and d/b/a
Pipesforyou.com, 48, of Erie, PA.;
Jason Vrbas, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House,
and d/b/a
101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;
John Lee Walker, a/k/a John Lee Walker, Jr., d/b/a Headcase, and
d/b/a
Aheadcase.com, 35, of Riverside, CA.;
Gabriel Watson, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House,
and
d/b/a 101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;
Anthony Yanow, d/b/a Hot Comet Enterprises, d/b/a Puff Pipes,
d/b/a
Atmospheres Lifestyles of LA, and d/b/a Puffpipes.com, 31, of
Los Angeles,
CA;
Waleed A. Zahrieh, d/b/a Wicked Corp. and d/b/a Sands of Time,
37, of Los
Gatos, CA.;
Nessar David Zahriya, d/b/a Wicked Corp. and d/b/a Sands of Time,
39, of San
Mateo, CA.; and
Tracie Lynn Zimmerman, d/b/a Heads-N-Threads, 34, of North Huntingdon,
PA.
National Distributors
Named in the indictments announced today
are 17 individuals who operated 10
national distribution companies of drug paraphernalia.
The following persons operated six businesses
based in California:
Melkizian operated Omnilounge L.L.C. which
also did business over the internet as omnilounge.com.
Patrick was charged as the operator of California Colorchangers,
which did
business as colorchangingglass.com.
Teurfs, Vrbas and Watson operated another internet company named
101north.net, which also did business as 101 North Glass and The
Glass
House.
Yanow has been indicted for running puffpipes.com, which also
did business as Hot Comet Enterprises and Atmospheres Lifestyles
of L.A.
Struble and Walker were charged with operating aheadcase.com,
also known as
Headcase.
Zahriya and Zahrieh were indicted in conjunction with their operation
of the Sands of Time and its successor business, Wicked Corporation.
The individuals who ran the four other national
operations charged were:
Rothschild did business under all of the names listed above, and
Gothic Dungeon in Columbia, SC;
Rakine operated A&E Wholesalers in Pembroke Pines, FL.;
C Stone, Stone and Rodgers ran Stone Artworx in Phoenix, AZ.;
and
Harris and Mohtadi owned Jerome Baker Designs and the other companies
in
Eugene, OR.
Regional Retail Shops
Ten individuals who sold drug paraphernalia
in retail shops in the Western District of Pennsylvania also face
charges of conspiracy, offering for sale,
and selling drug paraphernalia.
The defendants in Pennsylvania are:
Beers, G.W. Pipedreams, Clarion
Conover, B&M Variety, Erie
Jaussen, Tela Ropa, Pittsburgh
Thompson and Bayle, Pipe Emporium, Sunrise
Distribution and pipesforyou.com,
Erie
Zimmerman and Deblasio, Heads-N-Threads,
North Huntingdon
Adamy and Cummings, Phantasm, Johnstown
Przekop, Slacker, Inc., Pittsburgh
OPERATION HEADHUNTER
The DEA resident office in Des Moines, Iowa,
initiated an investigation into the sale and distribution of drug
paraphernalia at headshops in Southern Iowa in January 2000. Federal
search warrants executed at four such
businesses in Iowa resulted in the seizure of more than $2 million
in drug paraphernalia.
The searches also implicated various national
distributors,
including four companies indicted today.
The investigation leading to the indictments
in this case was led by the DEA, along with the U.S. Marshals
Service, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
U.S. Secret Service, Polk County (Iowa) Sheriff's Office and the
Des Moines (Iowa) Police Department.
The individuals named in the four indictments
brought in the Southern District of Iowa, announced today, include:
Alan Bruce Clute, a/k/a Bruce Clute, and
Lawrence Charles Bowman, d/b/a Smoky Mountain Trading Co, d/b/a
Dream Factory Boutique and d/b/a Strange Daze Boutique, Detroit.
Jose Corona Zavala, Jr., Juan Luis Zavala and Clinton Lee Goodson,
d/b/a The Other Side, d/b/a The Crush, d/b/a The Worx, d/b/a The
Bomb, d/b/a Toys in the Attic and d/b/a Artistic Alchemy Manufacturing,
Sacramento and North Hollywood, Calif.
Amanda Claire Ballard, a/k/a Amanda Claire Irwin, a/k/a Mandi
Claire Ballard, a/k/a Mandi Claire Irwin and Allison Blakely Ballard,
d/b/a Acme
Distributing and Mfg., d/b/a Acme Distributing, d/b/a Smoke Stax
and d/b/a A & M Gifts, Houston.
Catherine Nicole Adamson and Bruce Dean Ross d/b/a Grow Industries,
d/b/a Zong Toy Company, d/b/a Zong Industries, d/b/a ZTC, d/b/a
Seedless and d/b/a Seedless Clothing Company Shea Artis McComb,
San Diego, Calif.
For additional information on Operations
Pipe Dreams and Headhunter, please call the DEA Office of Public
Affairs at 202-307-7979 or visit the DEA
website at www.dea.gov.
