Ocala Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced To 10 Years For Distributing Cocaine And Money Laundering

Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges has sentenced James Bryan Swoll, a/k/a “Squid,” (37, Ocala) to 10 years in federal prison for distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine and money laundering. He was also ordered to forfeit $350,000 worth of real property that was traceable to the offenses. Swoll pleaded guilty in November 2014.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Swoll had a long-time source for large quantities of cocaine in South Texas and Matamoros, Mexico. For more than seven years, he obtained cocaine from Rolando Pinon and then redistributed the multi-kilogram amounts to other large-scale drug traffickers in the Ocala area. Pinon employed a series of drivers, including Jose Manuel Tovar, to drive the cocaine from south Texas to Ocala. Swoll received profits of approximately $5,000 per kilogram of cocaine sold. Swoll also distributed six kilograms of cocaine, via a broker, to another large-scale cocaine dealer in the Ocala area and received $211,500 in cash.

Swoll laundered his drug proceeds to purchase a home in the Ocala area. The closing documents revealed that one of Swoll’s associates appeared at the closing and titled the home in his name. Swoll provided the cash for the closing.

Pinon pleaded guilty for his role in this case and was sentenced to 18 years and 6 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to forfeit more than $1.2 million in cash and property. Tovar also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in federal prison.

This case is another prosecution in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation Wind Sock. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, which is comprised of narcotics agents from the Ocala Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Tysen Duva.

The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation's drug supply.