CONCORD - A Tyngsboro, Mass., man who prosecutors claim was the ringleader of a major marijuana distribution ring was sentenced last week to 30 months in federal prison, court records show.Rene Joyal, 42, of Tyngsboro, Mass., was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court. A business owner, Joyal has been free on bail while the charges against him were pending, and he was given until April 16 to surrender himself to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Joyal was the head of a marijuana distribution ring that he ran mainly out of a car stereo installation shop in Dracut, Mass., Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Irish said Wednesday. Investigators believe that Joyal and others began smuggling marijuana from Canada around 1999, and soon expanded their contacts to New York, Chicago and El Paso, Texas (for marijuana smuggled from Mexico), Irish said.
They began relatively small, with shipments of 10 or 15 pounds, and expanded to shipments of 100 pounds or more, sometimes hiding the marijuana inside snowmobile trailers or trucks hauling lumber or hay, Irish said.
The drugs were distributed from apartments in Nashua and Manchester, and from Joyal's business in Dracut, Irish said.
Investigators estimate the ring had distributed at least 2,400 pounds of marijuana around New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut before police began to make arrests in the summer of 2005, Irish said.
The investigation began with information gleaned by Pelham Police investigators, who'd been working on drug cases in that town, Irish said. On hearing of a widespread smuggling ring, Pelham Police contacted federal authorities.
"We saw Rene Joyal as the hub of the conspiracy," Irish said.
A total of nine people were prosecuted, and all but one of them have been sentenced so far, Irish said. All of them pleaded guilty, he said.
Irish refused to name any of the other codefendants, saying that some of them had cooperated with prosecutors. The case also involved seizures of cash and property, but some of those court records remain sealed.
The Telegraph was able to identify some, though not all, of the defendants through federal court records, however.
Joyal was indicted in 2007, and pleaded guilty last year, court records show.
A co-defendant, Marc Brown, age and address unavailable, also has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced April 16, court records show. According to Joyal's lawyer, prosecutors are recommending 18 months in prison for Brown.
An associate of Joyal, Augustine Manrique, of 56 Hobbs Road, Pelham, pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering, and was sentenced in 2008 to 12 months in prison. Another co-defendant, Matthew Oleksak, formerly of 14 McKean St., Nashua, was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2008.
Brian Kleynen, then 29, of Las Vegas, Nev., and formerly of Chelmsford, Mass., was sentenced in 2008 to two years in prison for his role in the ring.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: nashuatelegraph.com
Author: Andrew Wolfe
Contact: awolfe@nashuatelegraph.com
Copyright: 2010 The Telegraph
Website: Marijuana ring leader sentenced - NashuaTelegraph.com
Joyal was the head of a marijuana distribution ring that he ran mainly out of a car stereo installation shop in Dracut, Mass., Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Irish said Wednesday. Investigators believe that Joyal and others began smuggling marijuana from Canada around 1999, and soon expanded their contacts to New York, Chicago and El Paso, Texas (for marijuana smuggled from Mexico), Irish said.
They began relatively small, with shipments of 10 or 15 pounds, and expanded to shipments of 100 pounds or more, sometimes hiding the marijuana inside snowmobile trailers or trucks hauling lumber or hay, Irish said.
The drugs were distributed from apartments in Nashua and Manchester, and from Joyal's business in Dracut, Irish said.
Investigators estimate the ring had distributed at least 2,400 pounds of marijuana around New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut before police began to make arrests in the summer of 2005, Irish said.
The investigation began with information gleaned by Pelham Police investigators, who'd been working on drug cases in that town, Irish said. On hearing of a widespread smuggling ring, Pelham Police contacted federal authorities.
"We saw Rene Joyal as the hub of the conspiracy," Irish said.
A total of nine people were prosecuted, and all but one of them have been sentenced so far, Irish said. All of them pleaded guilty, he said.
Irish refused to name any of the other codefendants, saying that some of them had cooperated with prosecutors. The case also involved seizures of cash and property, but some of those court records remain sealed.
The Telegraph was able to identify some, though not all, of the defendants through federal court records, however.
Joyal was indicted in 2007, and pleaded guilty last year, court records show.
A co-defendant, Marc Brown, age and address unavailable, also has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced April 16, court records show. According to Joyal's lawyer, prosecutors are recommending 18 months in prison for Brown.
An associate of Joyal, Augustine Manrique, of 56 Hobbs Road, Pelham, pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering, and was sentenced in 2008 to 12 months in prison. Another co-defendant, Matthew Oleksak, formerly of 14 McKean St., Nashua, was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2008.
Brian Kleynen, then 29, of Las Vegas, Nev., and formerly of Chelmsford, Mass., was sentenced in 2008 to two years in prison for his role in the ring.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: nashuatelegraph.com
Author: Andrew Wolfe
Contact: awolfe@nashuatelegraph.com
Copyright: 2010 The Telegraph
Website: Marijuana ring leader sentenced - NashuaTelegraph.com
