Meridian Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Treasure Valley Spice Case

BOISE—Mark A. Ciccarello, 36, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to count four of the indictment charging him with money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ciccarello and four co-defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2013 on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue; conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States; conspiracy to sell and transport drug paraphernalia; and conspiracy to launder money. Ciccarello is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to court proceedings, Ciccarello admitted to being a leader and organizer in a conspiracy to launder money between March 2011 and May 2013. The money laundering was related to his operation of a business called Zombie Matter. Ciccarello pleaded guilty to engaging in bank and other financial transactions through criminally derived property associated with the spice business. During this period, through a series of monetary transactions in amounts over $10,000, Ciccarello removed over $4.5 million in currency from three Zombie Matter accounts.

Co-defendant Robert A. Eoff, 31, and William Burr Mabry, 46, both of Boise, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money on December 17 and August 13, 2013, respectively. Eoff is set for sentencing on March 11, 2014; Mabry on March 25.

Two co-defendants, Troy L. Palmer, 43, of Boise, and Holly F. Ciccarello, 39, of Meridian, are set for trial on February 25.

The indictment is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Nampa Police Department. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.