Leaders of Marijuana Conspiracy Ring Sentenced

The leaders of a marijuana conspiracy ring operating out of Strongsville, Ohio, were recently sentenced to federal prison, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio announced.

Kevn L. Locastro, 35, of Strongsville, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. Francisco M. Felix, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to forfeit $40,100. Jesus A. Tavizon, 39, also of Phoenix, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit $40,100.

In March 2010, a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio returned a 32-count indictment against 16 defendants including Locastro, Felix, Jr., and Tavizon.

United States District Court Judge Kathleen O’Malley sentenced Locastro, Felix and Tavizon this week and determined they were the leaders and or organizers of the 16-member conspiracy. All three were found guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of greater than 100 kilograms of marijuana and money laundering.

The investigation initially targeted local members of the marijuana Drug Trafficking Organization that operated out of Strongsville, and Cleveland, Ohio, but ultimately uncovered a large-scale, multi-person conspiracy to distribute marijuana, which extended to Arizona and Mexico.

The investigation revealed that Locastro, residing in Strongsville, Ohio, James Salvano, who remains a fugitive, and others arranged for large quantities of marijuana to be brought to Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, from Arizona on a monthly basis by Felix and Tavizon.

Locastro then distributed the drugs to other co-conspirators in the greater Akron, Strongsville, and Cleveland, Ohio, area, and they in turn, would re-distribute the marijuana.

The investigation also revealed that Locastro orchestrated deposits, at the direction of Felix and Tavizon, of the proceeds of the drug operation into bank accounts in Ohio, and Felix and Tavizon withdrew the proceeds in Arizona. This was done to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements under both state and federal laws.

Furthermore, Tavizon and Locastro used either the U.S. mails or commercial carriers to ship drug proceeds from Ohio, to Felix in Arizona.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Corts and 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 comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS), Cleveland Division of Police (CPD), 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.

In all, 13 other co-defendants have been previously sentenced in this case.