More than a dozen people were captured on hidden cameras at a suburban warehouse secretly operated by undercover federal agents paying millions of dollars in cash, firearms and narcotics to buy tens of millions of illegal cigarettes that had not been properly taxed. The investigation first became public in March when Lawrence A. "Larry" Draus, a longtime Cook County sheriff's police official, was charged with accepting a $10,000 cash payoff in return for agreeing to protect the illegal cigarette operation. His son, Lawrence E. "Eric" Draus, was also charged.
On Thursday, federal authorities announced indictments against 10 others in the scheme. In all, the defendants paid more than a combined $20 million to buy more than 100 million cigarettes without paying Cook County or Illinois taxes, authorities charged. Most of the sales took place in a Hickory Hills warehouse secretly operated by the U.S.Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesthat was equipped with cameras that captured audio and video of the meetings, authorities said.
Two cooperating individuals worked undercover with the federal agents, they said. Cigarette distributors must apply for and receive a license from the Illinois Department of Revenue and put tax stamps on each pack of cigarettes that they sell, prosecutors said.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий