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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice today obtained an indictment charging
the alleged leader of a Harrisburg, Pa.,
cocaine ring and his girlfriend with first-degree
money laundering for allegedly laundering
more than $500,000 in drug proceeds at Atlantic
City casinos.
The
indictment is the result of a cooperative
investigation initiated by Pennsylvania
Attorney General Tom Corbett, whose office
investigated the Harrisburg cocaine ring.
His office contacted the New Jersey State
Police Casino Gaming Bureau about large
amounts of money that were being wired to
the couple at the Atlantic City casinos
via Western Union. The New Jersey State
Police, the New Jersey Division of Gaming
Enforcement and the New Jersey Division
of Criminal Justice investigated the alleged
money laundering.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, John Hollins, 48,
of Harrisburg, Pa., and his girlfriend,
Leslie Lawson, 44, who lived with him, were
indicted today by a state grand jury on
a charge of first-degree money laundering.
The indictment alleges that between January
2004 and December 2007, the couple used
Atlantic City casinos, including the Borgata
and Hilton, to launder more than $500,000
in proceeds from cocaine dealing.
“It
is not uncommon for criminals to attempt
to use casinos to launder the proceeds of
their crimes by gambling with the cash or
by making large deposits that are withdrawn
after minimal play,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “In this case, Attorney
General Corbett’s office alerted us
that large amounts of money were being wired
to the defendants at the casinos.”
In
March, Attorney General Corbett’s
office arrested Hollins and two other men
on charges related to a $1.6 million cocaine
distribution ring in Harrisburg. Hollins
allegedly was the leader of the ring, which
had been operating since 1987 and was alleged
to have been responsible for delivery of
about 45 kilos of cocaine, according to
the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s
Office.
The
money laundering investigation revealed
that Hollins and Lawson allegedly brought
large sums of cash to the Atlantic City
casinos in addition to the money that was
wired to them there.
The
money laundering investigation was led by
Detective Sgt. First Class Paul Spirit of
the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming
Bureau’s Financial Crimes Unit and
Division of Gaming Enforcement Analyst Michael
Kennedy, who was sworn as an investigator
for the Division of Criminal Justice to
provide a detailed analysis of the Western
Union wire transfers to Hollins and Lawson
and their casino play. Deputy Attorney General
Yvonne Maher of the Division of Criminal
Justice Casino Prosecutions Bureau presented
the case to the state grand jury.
Attorney
General Milgram also thanked the Pennsylvania
Attorney General’s Office.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Gerald J. Council in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Atlantic County.
Hollins
currently is jailed in Pennsylvania on the
charges filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney
General. Lawson is being held in New Jersey
in lieu of $200,000 bail.
The
first-degree money laundering charge carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in state
prison and a criminal fine of $500,000.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
A
copy of the indictment is available with
this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
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