Today, at 2:44 p.m., another in a reliable stream of press releases from the Northern District U.S. Attorney’s office landed in my inbox: twelve defendants from Salinas pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges. The federal effort boasts a name designed to be like candy for TV reporters: “Operation Money Train” (an homage to The Shield?), and the feds seized stolen cars, guns and drugs.
Of course, a quick look at the docket reveals that none of these Big Fish defendants could afford their own lawyer. And the drug amounts in question -- 1361 grams of meth (translation: 1.3 kilos), 180 grams of heroin (way less than a kilo) and 320 grams of cocaine (barely enough to keep Legal Pad staff churning out blog items through the end of the month) -– can’t be much more than a fraction of the local market. Clearly these defendants were no angels, and no disrespect to the agents who put their safety at risk, but: Why trumpet a bunch of lower level functionaries while the real captains of industry always seem to be at large?
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello declined to comment on the operational details of Money Train, but said the effort achieved “specific and general deterrence.”
Funny post!
That said, anyone in possession of a pound or more of heroin (let alone multiple pounds) is a MAJOR distributor in the food clain.
Posted by: Stephen G | April 30, 2010 at 11:28 AM
Not sure how much I'd agree with that, but even if you are right, these guys had 183 grams -- well under a pound.
Posted by: Dan Levine | April 30, 2010 at 01:14 PM
But thanks for the compliment!
Posted by: Dan Levine | April 30, 2010 at 01:27 PM