NEW YORK, Nov. 30 -- An international crime ring that laundered millions of dollars in drug money for traffickers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Europe was busted Wednesday, authorities said. The 23 defendants charged in the scheme include a lawyer, three bankers, two rabbis, a stockbroker, a police officer, a firefighter and a Bulgarian diplomat. All but three of those charged were arrested Wednesday, either in New York, Germany or Colombia. The organization's three leaders in Europe were still at large. The complaint identifies retired New York City firefighter Richard Spence and two partners in a prominent New York law firm as heads of the organization in the United States. The three allegedly sent couriers to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from drug traffickers, and then delivered them to other members of the ring, who deposited it into bank accounts. A police officer, a New York City hospital administrator, two rabbis and Latchezar Christov, the Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Bulgaria, were charged with acting as international couriers for the ring. According to the complaint, most of the laundered cash during the course of the investigation -- approximately $100 million -- was sent to a private bank in Switzerland operated by defendants Leon and Rachel Weinmann. The pair were arrested Wednesday in New York while attending a meeting of the ring. 'Those arrested today signal the dismantling of a significant money laundering-revenue transporting cell,' said Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Carlo Boccia.
'The illegal drug trade produced the addictions,' added FBI Agent William Gavin said. 'The consumer becomes addicted to the drugs themselves and the participants in the laundering of drug money became addicted to the millions of dollars generated by illegal drug trafficking. 'This investigation targeted those individuals who profit from the illegal drug trade,' Gavin said.
