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Release [print
friendly page] Mexican Methamphetamine Kingpin Sentenced to Life in Prison - No Parole
JUN 18 -- (Indianapolis) U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney has sentenced Ivan Rea, a/k/a Oscar Camacho-Diaz, a/k/a Michoacan, 34, Indianapolis, Indiana, to life in prison without parole, following Rea’s conviction at trial. Rea, along with co-defendant Jose Luis Medina, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Rea was also convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. Trial testimony established that Rea directed the activities of a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization that operated along the Interstate 70 corridor from Indianapolis to Terre Haute from August 2005 through February 20, 2007. During that time period, Rea received approximately 40 pounds of methamphetamine from his sources in Denver, Colorado every two weeks. Rea typically cut each shipment of methamphetamine that he received from Denver with at least 40 pounds of dimethylsulfone, a horse feeding supplement, resulting in a total product of 80 pounds. Rea used drug runners to distribute the methamphetamine to distributors who worked for him in Indianapolis. Rea’s distributors, in turn, dealt the methamphetamine to other dealers along the Interstate 70 corridor. “This investigation took a methamphetamine kingpin, his organization, and dangerously addictive methamphetamine off the streets of Indianapolis and Terre Haute,” stated Gary G. Olenkiewicz, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Chicago Field Division which covers the state of Indiana. “The success of this endeavor is due to the cooperative efforts of all our law enforcement partners involved in the investigation.” Rea’s organization distributed over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine during the course of the conspiracy, and Medina served as one of Rea’s principal dealers in Indianapolis. Trial testimony established that Medina received approximately three pounds of methamphetamine per week from Rea. Medina initially operated a tire store located on West Washington Street in Indianapolis. When Medina ran into difficulty paying his methamphetamine debt to Rea, Rea took over the store from Medina, and renamed it “El Diamante” which is Spanish for “the Diamond.” According to trial testimony, Rea named the shop “El Diamante,” because the physical appearance of his organization’s methamphetamine resembled diamonds, and that Rea had become wealthy selling methamphetamine. During the course of the investigation, the DEA seized approximately 10 kilograms of methamphetamine tied to the REA organization. One kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds. The investigation into Rea and his organization was the result of a fifteen-month cooperative law enforcement effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshal’s Service, Metro Drug Task Force, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana State Police, Vigo County Drug Task Force, Vincennes Police Department, Linton Police Department, Clay County Sheriff’s Department, and Parke County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U. S. Attorney Bradley A. Blackington prosecuted the case for the government in the Southern District of Indiana. ###
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