12 more charged in waterloo drug conspiracy
Contact: Peter Deegan
Rolando Beltran-Lopez, 27, from Waterloo, Iowa; Anthony Sallis, 45, from Waterloo, Iowa; Yair Salinas-Vargas, 35, from Kansas City, Kansas; Victor Bustamante-Hernandez, 28, from San Bardeno, California; Carlos Bojorquez-Rios, 38, from Mira Loma, California; Caesareo Coss-Felix, 37, from Phoenix, Arizona; Marisol Lopez-Soto, 41, from Marshalltown, Iowa; Austin Hansen, 25, from Reinbeck, Iowa; Gabriel Sanchez-Florez, 25, from Phoenix, Arizona; Alije Dizdarevic, 23, from Waterloo, Iowa; Erica Pipkin, 22, from Sumner, Iowa; and Douglas Hoffman, 53, from Waterloo, Iowa, have been charged with drug conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and distribution of methamphetamine. The charges are contained in an Indictment filed January 25, 2011, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that Beltran-Lopez, Sallis, Salinas-Vargas,
Bustamante-Hernandez, Coss-Felix, Lopez-Soto, Hansen, Sanchez-Florez, Dizdarevic, and Hoffman conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from 2005 to 2009.
The Indictment also alleges that Beltran-Lopez, Salinas-Vargas,
Bustamante-Hernandez, Lopez-Soto, Sanchez-Florez, Dizdarevic, and Pipkin conspired to commit money laundering.
Sallis is also charged with three counts of distributing methamphetamine.
The drug conspiracy is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 years to life, a fine of up to $4,000,000, and a term of supervised release of 5 years to life. The money laundering conspiracy is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $500,000, and a 3-year term of supervised release.
Lopez-Soto appeared on January 27, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Lopez-Soto’s next appearance for trial is set for March 28, 2011. Sallis appeared on January 27, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Sallis’ next appearance is set for January 31, 2011, for a detention hearing. Dizdarevic appeared on January 27, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was released on bond. Dizdarevic’s next appearance for trial is set for March 28, 2011. Hoffman appeared on January 28, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Hoffman’s next appearance is set for January 31, 2011, for a detention hearing. Trial is set for March 28, 2011.
Beltran-Lopez and Hansen are pending transfer to the Northern District of Iowa.
Salinas-Vargas, Bustamante-Hernandez, Bojorquez-Rios, Coss-Felix,
Sanchez-Florez, and Pipkin are fugitives. The public’s help is sought in locating the six defendants.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Oelwein Police Department, the Tri-County Drug Task Force, Cedar Rapids DEA Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Tri-County Drug Task Force is composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, LaPorte City Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, Hudson Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Cedar Rapids Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consists of the DEA; Linn County Sheriff's Office; Cedar Rapids Police Department; Marion Police Department; Iowa City Police Department; Clinton Police Department; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services; and Iowa National Guard.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 11-2005.
