Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, John Ferster, Resident Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the DEA, and Michael McGrath, Chief, Cleveland Division of Police, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a 63-count indictment charging:

1. Martin Bossone, age 39, of Cleveland, Ohio;
2. Randy Brown, age 22, of Cleveland, Ohio;
3. Ralph Capretta, age 37, of Lakewood, Ohio;
4. Lawrence Fassler, age 66, of Tucson, Arizona;
5. Thomas Friend, age 42, of North Ridgeville, Ohio;
6. John Hosper, age 36, of Cleveland, Ohio;
7. Robert Koziol, age 47, of Medina, Ohio;
8. Mihail Papaioan, age 40, of Akron, Ohio;
9. Elige Russell, aka Lodge, age 36, of Cleveland, Ohio;
10. Gary Turner, age 44, of Medina, Ohio;
11. John Turner, age 50, of Del Rio, Tennessee,

with violations of the federal narcotics and money laundering laws.

Count 1 of the indictment charges all 12 defendants with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and/or distribution of at least 100 or more kilograms of marijuana.

Counts 2-7 of the indictment charge Gary Turner with the distribution of various amounts of marijuana.

Count 8 of the indictment charges John Hosper with the possession of 3959 grams of marijuana.

Counts 9-51 of the indictment charge each defendant individually with the use of a communication facility (a telephone) to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

Counts 52-55, and 63 of the indictment charge Lawrence Fassler with traveling from Arizona to Ohio, with the purpose of facilitating an enterprise involving marijuana or cocaine.

Counts 56-58 of the indictment charge John Turner with traveling from Tennessee to Ohio, with the purpose of facilitating an enterprise involving marijuana.

Counts 59-61 of the indictment charge Gary Turner, Lawrence Fassler and Mihail Papaioan with various money laundering offenses.

Count 62 of the indictment charges Lawrence Fassler with possession with the intent to distribute greater than five kilograms of cocaine.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses and the unique characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward F. Feran. The investigation revealed that Gary Turner, Lawrence Fassler, John Turner, and their associates would arrange for large quantities of marijuana to be brought to Cleveland, Ohio, from Tucson, Arizona. Thereafter, Gary Turner and John Turner, assisted by other members of the conspiracy, would sell the marijuana to their various customers in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area.

Additionally, on February 20, 2008, investigating agents and officers seized approximately 80 pounds of marijuana, over $75,000 U.S. currency and eight firearms.

Lawrence Fassler is the author of the book “Busted by the Feds,” a manual for individuals facing federal criminal charges.

The investigation was conducted by agents and task force officers of the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force (NOLETF). The NOLETF is a long standing multi-agency task force composed of investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Cleveland Division of Police, Cleveland Heights Police Department (CHPD), Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Euclid Police Department (EPD), Lake County Narcotics Agency, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Police Department, Willoughby Hills Police Department and Shaker Heights Police Department (SHPD). The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives. The HIDTA Program supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate, or reduce drug-trafficking in the State of Ohio.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.