Man arrested in Centre County for running 'corrupt organization' with hundreds of pounds of pot and more than $1 million
One man is in jail in Centre County while five arrests are pending in connection with an interstate drug ring that spanned years, extended coast to coast and included hundreds of pounds of marijuana.
Six people are being charged and four others were named as a result of Pennsylvania's 42nd statewide grand jury report, which traced an operation that netted more than $1 million as a result of the drug sales.
The grand jury heard evidence related to a multi-year distribution of marijuana by Anthony Fuentes, 26, and his co-conspirators. The grand jury referred to it as an organization that received the marijuana from New York, California and Oregon before selling it in Centre County, Luzerne County and other counties in Pennsylvania.
A state police at Hollidaysburg trooper became aware of Fuentes' drug operation after a Penn State student made three controlled purchases of marijuana in 2016. A search warrant was issued on Oct. 31, 2016 for the search of a Parkway Plaza apartment.
That student and two others named in the case lived at the residence and officers confiscated six pounds of marijuana and $3,350 from the bedroom of the Penn State student and his roommate, who was named in the case.
Another person involved in the case was also interviewed by police and consented to a search of his State College apartment, which had two pounds of marijuana confiscated from it.
Witnesses told the grand jury that Fuentes sold between 234-284 pounds of marijuana to two individuals, including the Penn State student, from the fall of 2015 to the winter of 2016. Fuentes would charge between $2,300-$3,100 per pound of marijuana.
The grand jury discovered that Fuentes, originally from the Hazleton area, would drive from Hazleton to State College to deliver one pound of vacuum-sealed bags of boxed marijuana to the Penn State student. Another person named in the case joined the Penn State student on his trips and once observed 50-60 pounds of marijuana at Fuentes' residence.
Another person named in the case traveled to Hazleton on multiple occasions to purchase marijuana from Fuentes. The grand jury said he would often pay for prior shipments of marijuana, including one occasion when he gave Fuentes $25,000.
The proceeds from the marijuana sales were sent to Fuentes and deposited into various bank accounts through wire transfer. The grand jury determine that another person named in the case laundered money for Fuentes through their joint bank account.
Fuentes utilized his Hazleton apartment to store the marijuana for about one year, beginning in April 2016. During that period, two others named in the case visited the apartment to pick up pounds of marijuana for re-distribution. One man began storing the marijuana at his apartment after Fuentes became suspicious of a police presence in the immediate area of the apartment.
A confidential witness told the grand jury that a man named in the case traveled to Scranton to pick up drug money on one occasion and delivered a car to another involved party in Wilkes-Barre.
Another person named in the case, was involved in the marijuana business with Fuentes. A witness told the grand jury that Fuentes and he would grow marijuana in rented houses and apartments in Oregon.
Two men named is the case were found to have more than $55,000 in their backpacks after they were stopped at the Los Angeles airport in February 2013. A shipping label with Fuentes' name was also found in the backpack. The two told investigators they had traveled to California to purchase marijuana.
Fuentes and one of the two men stopped in Los Angeles were found to have eight pounds of marijuana in their vehicle after they were stopped by police in Fort Lee, New Jersey on Feb. 28, 2013.
One man was stopped a third time on Jan. 14, 2016, which is when police confiscated more than $82,000 in drug proceeds from his vehicle in Nebraska. He admitted that he was on his way to California to purchase marijuana that would be brought back to Pennsylvania.
An officer testified to the grand jury that he found four bank accounts in the names of Fuentes and three others. The accounts exceeded $1 million between mid-2013 and early 2017.
A state police at Hollidaysburg trooper acting in an undercover capacity also made three controlled purchases of marijuana from Fuentes in Hazleton in 2018. The trooper purchased two pounds of marijuana each transaction and paid between $4,300 and $5,300 per transaction.
Five others have been charged in addition to Fuentes, but their cases are listed as inactive. According to notes on the court documents, authorities requested a 72-hour delay for a release of the warrants due to the nature of the grand jury investigation and to permit the service of the warrants in multiple locations.
Fuentes is charged with one count of corruption organizations, five counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver, one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, one count of knowledge that property is proceeds of an illegal act, one count of criminal use of technology and one count of conspiracy. All 10 charges are graded as felonies.
He was arraigned before District Judge Thomas Jordan, who set monetary bail at $750,000. Fuentes did not post bail and is being detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
The grand jury, Office of the Attorney General, Pennsylvania state police and other law enforcement agencies have been conducting a criminal investigation into the suspected violations of Pennsylvania drug laws, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The grand jury presentment was reviewed and approved by Supervising Judge Wesley Oler Jr., who directed that criminal charges be initiated and prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General.
This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Man arrested in Centre County for running 'corrupt organization' with hundreds of pounds of pot and more than $1 million."