Eleven Individuals Indicted in Drug Conspiracy

William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI, and Michael McGrath, Chief, Cleveland Division of Police, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a 30-count indictment charging:

1. Hector Linares, age 31, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio;
2. Reina Otillia Casasola Lopez, age 32, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio;
3. Leonardo Cisneros, age 54, of Aurora, Illinois;
4. Adeo Cisneros, age 42, of Aurora, Illinois;
5. Ioanis Gutierrez, age 30, of Moreno Valley, California;
6. Bryce Suminguit, age 22, of Cleveland, Ohio;
7. Rafael Saavedra III, age 22, of Cleveland, Ohio;
8. Rafael Badillo Moscoso, age 63, of Phoenix, Arizona;
9. Oscar Raul Diaz Ruano, age 27, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio;
10. Elvis E. Caraballo, age 22, of Brooklyn, Ohio;
11. Luis Mateo, age 31, of Cleveland, Ohio, with violations of the federal narcotics laws.

Count 1 charges all 11 defendants with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and/or distribution of at least 1 or more kilogram of heroin, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, and 50 kilograms or less of marijuana.

Counts 2 - 9 charges various defendants with distribution of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.

Count 10 charges Bryce Suminguit, Elvis Caraballo and Luis Mateo with the attempted possession of less than 50 kilograms of marijuana.

Counts 11-28 charges various defendants individually with the use of a communication facility (a telephone) to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

Count 29 charges Leonardo Cisneros, Hector Linares, Rafael Saavedra and Reina Otilia Casasola Lopez with traveling from Ohio to Illinois, with the purpose of facilitating an enterprise involving cocaine.

Count 30 of the indictment charge Leonardo Cisneros, Adeo Cisneros, Rafael Saavedra and Reina Otilia Casasola Lopez with traveling from Ohio to Illinois, with the purpose of facilitating an enterprise involving cocaine.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses and the unique characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward F. Feran and Kelly L. Galvin. The investigation revealed that Hector Linares, Reina Otilla Casasola Lopez, Leonardo Cisneros, Adeo Cisneros and their associates would arrange for large quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana to be brought to Cleveland, Ohio, from Chicago, Illinois and other cities. Thereafter, Reina Otilla Casasola Lopez, assisted by other members of the conspiracy, would sell the cocaine, heroin and marijuana to their various customers in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area.

The investigation was conducted by agents and task force officers of the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force (NOLETF). The NOLETF is a long standing multi-agency task force composed of investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Cleveland Division of Police, Cleveland Heights Police Department (CHPD), Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Euclid Police Department (EPD), Lake County Narcotics Agency, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Police Department, Willoughby Hills Police Department and Shaker Heights Police Department (SHPD). The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives. The HIDTA Program supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate, or reduce drug-trafficking in the State of Ohio.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.