Theft ring, terrorism linked
By Kimball Perry
Post staff reporter
cincypost.com
More than $100 million was generated in a money laundering scheme that used a dozen convenience stores in Cincinnati's poorest neighborhoods to sell stolen goods, say police and prosecutors, who believe the money then might have been used to fund terrorism around the globe.
In the scheme, police say, organizers paid pennies on the dollar for stolen goods -- such as cigarettes and teeth-whitening strips -- and then re-sold them at a profit in Over-the-Rhine, Northside, Westwood, the West End, Fairmount, Winton Place and South Cumminsville.
Police say they can already prove that $37 million went through the bank accounts of the man they believe is the ringleader, but they estimate that was "only a third" of the total, said Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher.
Much of the money, the chief added, has been sent back to Middle Eastern countries, often in amounts just under the $10,000 limit that requires the transfer to be reported to the U.S. government.
"We can document that money is being sent to the Middle East," Streicher said, adding there is a "strong suspicion" the money is being used to fund terrorism. He acknowledges, though, "there is nothing concrete -- yet."
Omran Saleh, a Canton, Ohio, businessman who also has a Green Township address, is described as the head of the organization.
He was among 23 people arrested in connection with the two-year undercover investigation that resulted in a 105-count Hamilton County indictment.
Saleh, like most of those arrested, is of Palestinian descent, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen. Many of the defendants are naturalized Americans.
The major players arrested have been charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering and tampering with government records, charges that carry up to 10 years in prison.
Some of those arrested are also accused of charging exorbitant fees to cash checks.
Police say the scheme operated like this:
Store owners would pay others -- "usually drug addicts," one official said -- to steal items they could then resell. Popular items were cigarettes and teeth-whitening strips. The items could be stolen in as small amounts as a few packages or as large as truckloads.
The stolen goods were resold through the markets at prices that were two, three, four or five times higher than normal, said Streicher.
"The base of the operation are all based in very poor neighborhoods -- preying on the poorest people in the city," Streicher said.
At least five of the stores searched Thursday have been padlocked and authorities will try to close them permanently.
The allegations come as little surprise to some who live in the neighborhoods.
"I know they've been buying a lot of stolen merchandise," said a man who frequently purchased cigarettes in two of the shops, Bank Café at 1135 Vine St. and Glossinger's Carryout at 1201 Vine St., in Over-the-Rhine. "I've seen it happen.
"They'd buy about anything. They'd buy your mom if you offered to sell her."
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he also wasn't surprised that police suspect profits from re-selling the stolen merchandise were sent overseas to support terrorism.
"The store owners look like they're from the Mideast and sometimes they would ask me what I thought about Americans being in Iraq," said the man. "I was smart enough to say, 'No comment.'"
The man said he sometimes saw people selling radios and stereos to the shop operators.
"They walk in with the stuff and sell it," he said. "It's been going on for about five years, ever since these foreigners took the stores over. It's common knowledge around here.
"They do a lot of business in the stores," he said.
"They sell a lot of liquor and cigarettes and they buy a lot of things," he said.
Store operators sometimes tore open packs of cigarettes and sold individual cigarettes to people who didn't have enough money to buy a pack, the man said.
"It used to be two cigarettes for a quarter," he said. "Then the price went up to one for a quarter."
The investigation evolved out of a 1999 probe in which owners of several other Cincinnati convenience stores in poor neighborhoods bought, relabeled and resold baby formula at high prices.
The Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission has been investigating the operation for two years, using undercover officers and surveillance on the stores and the accused.
The dozens of search warrants served in the investigation are allowing law enforcement -- including Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- to pore over bank accounts as well as financial and telephone records from stores and residences.
About 160 officers from the Hamilton County sheriff's office, Hamilton County prosecutor's office, Cincinnati police, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Department of Safety Investigative Unit participated. |
