United States v. Blarek

7 F.Supp.2d 192 (1998)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Blarek and Pellecchia were arrested and charged with Racketeering, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), Racketeering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and Conspiring to Launder Monetary Instruments, 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1956(h). They were involved with the Santacruz faction of the Cali Colombia drug mob. While operating an interior design firm Ds designed, remodeled, and renovated homes and offices for a broad range of private persons and businesses. Blarek met Santacruz by chance in 1979 during a visit to friends in Colombia. He agreed to work for Santacruz, designing the interior of the drug lord's new home. Blarek did a fabulous job and a photograph of the result appeared on the cover of a major American interior design magazine. Blarek was paid a lot of money. Over a twelve-year period, Ds designed and decorated a number of offices and living spaces for Santacruz, his wife, his mistresses, and his children. Ds were good at their job but they also had a dark side. They could have cared less about the thousands of teens whose lives had been ruined by Cali cartel drugs sold for the cash used to pay for Santacruz's extravagant lifestyle. Ds also provided Santacruz a method for laundering drug cash in the United States. Ds knowingly and voluntarily (and we say enthusiastically) laundered tainted cash in order to continue exercising their craft and to enhance their own lives. Elaborate and elusive bookkeeping methods were developed. Ds' secretary was told not to record Santacruz's name on any company documents or bookkeeping ledgers, and not to disclose when Ds traveled to meet with him or his agents in Colombia. Ds lied where they traveled to and Blarek even bleached out entries in his passport to hide the extent of his travel to Colombia. Payments as high as one million dollars at a time were hand-delivered to Ds in piles of fifty and one-hundred-dollar bills. Ds moved the cash between cities, traveling by car or train to avoid airport searches. DEA agents visited Ds on numerous occasions asking for help in finding Santacruz. Blarek lied to the agents stating he had not seen Santacruz since 1980. Ds used their illegal income to live lavish lives. Ds were found guilty and the court was to pass the sentence. Ds forfeited nearly all of their property, including their home in San Francisco worth over two million dollars, three Harley Davidson motorcycles, a Mercedes Benz automobile, $75,000 worth of jewelry, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank accounts and safe deposit boxes. Blarek has a combined adjusted offense level of 33 based upon the three counts for which he was convicted. His criminal history category is I since he has no prior record. His Guidelines imprisonment range would then be 135 to 168 months. A fine range for Blarek's crimes of $20,000 to $ 14,473,063, as well as a required period of supervised release of at least two but not more than three years, is also indicated. Pellecchia is also a 33. He, too, was assigned a criminal history category of I by the Probation Office since he has no prior convictions. This assessment results in an imprisonment range of 135 to 168 months. The Presentence Report also indicates a fine range of $17,500 to $ 14,473,063 and a required period of supervised release of at least two but not more than three years.