An oxycodone ring leader accused of running a $1 million drug operation and distributing about 13,000 oxycodone pills has agreed to plead guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges, according to federal court documents.
Milan Thomas filed a notice of intent to change his plea and to enter into a plea agreement through his attorney on Friday. A proposed plea agreement was entered into an online court docket Monday.
According to charging documents, Thomas conspired to distribute oxycodone from Sacramento, Calif., to Juneau between 2007 and 2011, then conspired to launder the drug money into various financial institutions.
During the course of the conspiracy, Thomas and a co-conspirator transported the drugs on their person from Juneau to California via commercial airplanes, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt.
Schmidt said they also used drug couriers to transport oxycodone to Alaska and transported drug proceeds back to California, and used commercial package delivery services to transport oxycodone to conspirators in Juneau for subsequent distribution.
Thomas directed his co-conspirators to make cash deposits or withdrawals of the drug proceeds as receipts from a fraudulent business front called Southeast Alaska Tour Co., Schmidt alleged. Thomas also directed them to make cash deposits and withdrawals under the federal reporting requirements in order to avoid detection of law enforcement, Schmidt said.
Cash drug proceeds were deposited into and laundered through Thomas’ True North Credit Union account in Juneau, and two of the co-conspirators’ Wells Fargo bank accounts in Juneau.
The amount of drug money that passed through those bank accounts, as well as money transfer services such as MoneyGram and Western Union, totaled $1,323,439.95, Schmidt said.
The average price of an 80 milligram oxycodone pill sold by Thomas and his conspirators was $100, which equates to 13,624 pills, according to Schmidt.
Thomas was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in October on one count of drug conspiracy and three counts of money laundering conspiracy. Five of his known co-conspirators, who are listed in the same indictment, are Hilary Herdon, Ariana Dixon, Jennifer McGrath, Brenna Hauenstein and SallyJean Maki, all of Juneau.
Maki’s husband Brent Maki and another man Jason Rivera have since been charged in connection to the conspiracy. They were indicted on drug conspiracy charges in February.
Thomas successfully eluded police, but was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Minneapolis on Feb. 29.
According to the proposed plea agreement, Thomas has agreed to plead guilty to all four counts, which are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
There are no statutory maximum or minimum sentencing guidelines for the charges to which Thomas is expected to plead guilty.
Schmidt, who did not return phone calls and messages Monday, did not propose any sentencing recommendations.
A court date has not yet been set for the change of plea hearing. Thomas’ attorney Randall S. Cavanugh requested it be held in Anchorage in December.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said the Drug Enforcement Agency, D-22 High Intensity Drug Interdiction Task Force in Seattle, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Port of Seattle Police Department and Juneau Police Department Metro Drug Unit conducted the investigations leading to the indictments in this case.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (17)
Add commentLook around
Who ate the 13,000 oxycodone pills and what are these folks eating today? Are they cured of their addictions and now upstanding members of the community? Does Juneau have a major problem??
What is it...
...With all the women involved in this? Are women more likely to be Oxy addicts? Curious.
"Five of his known co-conspirators, who are listed in the same indictment, are Hilary Herdon, Ariana Dixon, Jennifer McGrath, Brenna Hauenstein and SallyJean Maki, all of Juneau."
A decade in prison or more
This guy is a definite threat to Juneau.
He needs to be put away at least a decade with no chance of parole.
Nothing NEW
this [filtered word] had been going on for the longest time now, as we can tell its nothing new. A mojority of Juneau is drugies and alcholics, and no one can deni that. so why is everyone so shocked about a drug dealer. all i got to say about the matter is. heyy buddie you did a good job untell you got caught, now someone better sneaker is going to take you place(:
miss marley
Um, I deny that a majority (>50%) of Juneau is a druggie or alcoholic. What an asinine statement.
Federal Prison
is the answer in this case. I often advocate for rehab, but not in this case. This is a dealer not a dealer/user.
As for why more women? I think oxy doesn't leave the physical skid marks of meth and heroin, so vanity plays a part. I understand it is the soccer mom choice right along side ritalin.
pp
Hat's off to you. You were able to decipher that throught the spelling and grammatical train wreck. Guess my druggie decoder ring is broke.
mental health
this is strictly a mental health issue. the black market creates violence and keeps sick people from getting the help they need. big pharma is making way more than these small time drug dealers, in fact, they are just finishing the job. the real criminals are those who produce this drug and prescribe it. in general, we are a pharmed nation dependent on the black market for monetary and political agenda. gotta stop pointing fingers. i know this will [filtered word] a lot of people off, sorry in advanced.
juneaugold
i agree 100%, this isn't [filtered word], every one makes a big deal about the small crime of dealing the drugs but why, its not going to stop the drugs from being distributed. I'm still extremly young but what i know is it doesn't matter if this group was caught, it wont stop the stedy flow and demand for drugs. i have seen it happen all my life. grown up around this stuff, and it never changes. oh, and Persnickety persimmon more that 50% sadly most people that you would never suspect of doing meth or pills is constantly slaming the drug that is slowly killing them. i grew up in what i thought was a normal family, my parents worked in the comunity and did everyday normal things. then i found out that they were meth heads selling drugs to people i used to respect, teachers, goverment officials, my neghibors. and those are only the ones that i know of. untel they were caught. and Milan Thomas filled in there place.
yo marley
sad to say but lil marley is right about one thang - it never changes. when there is demand, there is supply, and when one supply goes down, anotha finds its way in.
sorry to hear your story marley. believe me, i can relate. keep ya head up homie, you sound strong.
Prison...
I'm not an advocate for rehab. Rehab is good for people who want to kick the habbit, not those who don't. As for federal prison, definately. As the Constitution states that the federal government regulates commerce between states and this was most certainly commerce between states. This is a federal crime and should involve federal prison. Sure, might be a country club compared to state prisons, but from what I understand, with federal prisons, a sentence is a sentence. Not get five years yet get let out in one.
As for the drug problem in Juneau, it's just like everywhere. The best way to stop the problem is not to pretend it doesn't exist, it's to point it out. When you see a speed freak picking at their face in the grocery store, don't be afraid to tell your kids that's who they will end up being if they try meth. An ounce of prevention is good. A pound of education is great, especially when we have examples wandering the streets.
With all those opiates being
With all those opiates being ingested, there must have been a very large number of severely constipated people wandering about.
JEF
You solved it!
I always wondered why Limbaugh was so full of [filtered word].
Think of all the money to be
Think of all the money to be made pedaling milk of magnesia.
Yooo I just wanna say shout
Yooo I just wanna say shout out to Treyshawn Da$heed for the best screen name I see you.... and i'll i have to say about this is.... OPTIATE EPIDEMIC... FCUK PHARMA
sad
I read the Bio Blitz article above this one, seeing kids interested in learning and enjoying the nature our State has to offer and then come to down to this one and see kids wasting their lives away with this cwap. One can blame Pharma or whatever all they want but people do make choices. At least one of the stores here had to put their extract behind the counter...so do we blame the makers of the extract because kids are drinking it for the alcohol? There will always be something they find that gives them their high. I hope they accept the counseling help they will probably be offered, stand up, be an adult and eventually do something positive with their lives.
Treyshawn DaSheed
Me findum him funny. He talkum like Ghetto boy and everyone laugh. I thinkum he not what he say.