FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC at 410-209-4885
JANUARY 27, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCDETF: Baltimore Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Racketeering
BALTIMORE, Maryland - United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein announces that today U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced Carl H. Kus, age 40, of Baltimore to 2 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for interstate travel in aid of racketeering.
According to the statement of facts presented at his July 21, 2005 guilty plea, on May 12, 2002, Kus and co-defendants Antony Marcantoni and Adrian LaCasse flew from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Houston, Texas, using airline tickets paid for by Kus. Marcantoni and LaCasse were both “body-carrying” large sums of money which was needed to pay for a substantial quantity of marijuana that Marcantoni and Kus had arranged to purchase in Houston.
The following day, Kus, Marcantoni and LaCasse came under the surveillance of Houston police officers who had noticed that the automobile in which the conspirators were riding bore Maryland license plates. After watching the car for some time, the Houston police officers noticed the car committing two separate traffic violations and they ordered uniformed officers to stop it. After the traffic stop was made, the police told Kus, who was driving, that they had stopped him for committing traffic violations and because they believed there were controlled substances in the car. A K-9 drug sniffing dog alerted on the car’s trunk to the presence of controlled substances. When the police searched the trunk of the car, they found approximately 146.3 lbs of marijuana contained in plastic garbage bags and a set of electronic scales. The police arrested Marcantoni, LaCasse and Kus.
Antony J. Marcantoni, age 24, of Baltimore was sentenced to 5 years in prison on April 6, 2005, after pleading guilty at the end of a 2 ½ week trial. Adrian LaCasse, age 25, of Seattle, Washington also pled guilty and was ordered to serve 9 months home detention with electronic monitoring.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Harris County, Texas Sheriff’s Office and Washington County Narcotics Task Force for the investigative work performed in this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case. Mr. Rosenstein also praised Assistant United States Attorney Andrew G. W. Norman for prosecuting the case.
This page last modified—January 30, 2006