Five Charged in Federal Drug Trafficking Probe

CHICAGO—A joint investigation by an FBI-led task force and the Elgin (Illinois) Police Department has resulted in federal narcotics charges against five alleged drug dealers operating in and around Elgin. The charges and arrests of four of the defendants were announced today by Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI, and Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

The charges are set forth in two criminal complaints filed under seal in U.S. District Court last week and unsealed this week. One complaint charges JAMES MABRY, also known as “J-Money,” 46, of the 2600 block of Fairfield Trail in Belvidere, and COREY DUNIGAN, 40, of the 400 block of Ann Street in Elgin, with one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and DESMOND GREEN, aka “Dez,” 43, and ROSALEEN DELANEY, 29, both residing at the Colonial Hotel, 788 Villa Street in Elgin, with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin. The other complaint charges James Mabry’s brother, LEE DENNIS MABRY, 49, of Elgin, with distributing cocaine.

Dunigan, Green, and Delaney were arrested without incident in and around Elgin and appeared late on Sunday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason, who ordered them held pending their next court date, scheduled for this afternoon. James Mabry was located and arrested in the Atlanta area on Sunday. He appeared in federal court yesterday in Atlanta and remains in custody there pending his transfer to Chicago. Lee Dennis Mabry has not been captured and is now the subject of an extensive manhunt.

According to the complaint, James Mabry is a supplier of both powder and crack cocaine to wholesale customers, and he processed and packaged cocaine for his customers to resell. Dunigan is allegedly a narcotics customer of James Mabry and shared a narcotics storage location with James Mabry. Green is a supplier of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin operating primarily out of a room at the Colonial Motel in Elgin; and Delaney distributes cocaine and heroin at the direction of Green, her boyfriend, according to the complaint. Lee Dennis Mabry is allegedly a supplier of cocaine and heroin. The complaints set forth a number of drugs transactions carried out by the defendants over the course of the investigation, as well as a gun sale by Green last November.

The investigation, which began in September 2012, is part of an ongoing and coordinated effort by local, state, and federal authorities to identify and dismantle the many highly organized drug trafficking organizations operating in and around the Chicago metropolitan area. This investigation employed the extensive use of sophisticated physical and electronic surveillance techniques, the controlled purchase of narcotics and a firearm, and the consensual recording of telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings with one or more of the defendants. It has led to the recovery of six handguns and numerous seizures of narcotics, including the seizure of three kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $100,000.

If convicted, the defendants face sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.

Mr. Holley thanked the Elgin Police Department for the extensive assistance and support provided in this investigation.

The FBI’s Safe Streets Gangs Joint Task Force is composed of FBI special agents and officers from the Aurora, Elgin, and Melrose Park Police Departments.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.