Two Hudson County men are among five people busted for operating a money laundering ring in which they used county Western Union offices to transfer nearly $12 million to Colombian drug cartels, officials said.
Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie announced the conviction of New York attorney Luis A. Flores, 55, of Jackson Heights, on two counts of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, three counts of laundering drug proceeds, and one count of conspiracy to structure money transactions.
James Tsikinis, 47, of Hoboken, and Luz Williams, 31, A.K.A. "Luz Mantalvo," of Jersey City, were among four members of the money laundering ring who previously pleaded guilty to various charges, said Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. Both are awaiting sentencing.
The indictment charged the five members of the ring with conspiring with two citizens of Ecuador to launder drug money and to structure currency transactions at banks and Western Union branches in Hoboken, Jersey City, Union City and West New York, as well as in New York, Reinert said.
Testimony during the trial revealed that between January 1998 and November 2000, the ring deposited more than $11 million in 54 bank accounts set up for the money laundering scheme, Reinert said. Evidence presented at the trial demonstrated that most of the deposits and wire transfers were eventually transmitted to the South American drug cartels, Reinert said.
Evidence also showed most of the cash deposits and Western Union wires were structured in amounts of less than $10,000 in order to avoid requirements that cash transactions of that size be reported to the government.
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Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie announced the conviction of New York attorney Luis A. Flores, 55, of Jackson Heights, on two counts of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, three counts of laundering drug proceeds, and one count of conspiracy to structure money transactions.
James Tsikinis, 47, of Hoboken, and Luz Williams, 31, A.K.A. "Luz Mantalvo," of Jersey City, were among four members of the money laundering ring who previously pleaded guilty to various charges, said Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. Both are awaiting sentencing.
The indictment charged the five members of the ring with conspiring with two citizens of Ecuador to launder drug money and to structure currency transactions at banks and Western Union branches in Hoboken, Jersey City, Union City and West New York, as well as in New York, Reinert said.
Testimony during the trial revealed that between January 1998 and November 2000, the ring deposited more than $11 million in 54 bank accounts set up for the money laundering scheme, Reinert said. Evidence presented at the trial demonstrated that most of the deposits and wire transfers were eventually transmitted to the South American drug cartels, Reinert said.
Evidence also showed most of the cash deposits and Western Union wires were structured in amounts of less than $10,000 in order to avoid requirements that cash transactions of that size be reported to the government.
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