Articles Posted in Drug Offenses & Drug Trafficking

The “King of Hudson” has been dethroned.

A federal judge has sentenced Arde Olsen, also known as the “King of Hudson,” to 20 years in prison for Trafficking in Oxycodone.The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Olsen was the ringleader of a large oxycodone trafficking organization that he mainly operated from an auto repair shop at 11923 Pine Forest Drive in Hudson and a home on Denton Avenue.

Law enforcement targeted Olsen in a Federal drug operation called “Operation Oxy Express,” which led to the arrest of Olsen and 18 others. Each has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to Federal prison.

Olsen, 51, drew the harshest sentence this week among the defendants. The lowest sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Virginia Covington was two years, which went to the youngest defendant, 19-year-old Amber Marie Morreale.

To read the plea agreement (courtesy of the TBO.com), please click here.

Prosecutors said the group obtained large amounts of oxycodone from various pharmacies across Tampa Bay through Doctor Shopping. Olsen paid individuals to visit doctor offices and obtain prescriptions for oxycodone.

According to a prior St. Pete Times article, here is a list of those indicted in “Operation Oxy Express:”

• Arde Olsen, 51, who also goes by Arne. Authorities say he was the ringleader.

• Shannon Star Olsen, 45, who married Arde in 2002.

• Arde’s son, Jason Michael Olsen, 24.

• William “Billy” Joseph Califano, 29.

• Earle Monroe Silcox, 30.

• Jessie Krumm, 21.

• Amber Marie Morreale, 19.

• Jerald “Popeye” John Gilio Jr., 33.

• Anthony “Ant” Robert Upton, 28.

• Donna “Fat Donna” Jean Bynum, 31.

• Debra A. Collins, 48.

• Dannie James Mariedth, 50.

• Sarah Lynn Maynard, 25, who also goes by Sara Widemann.

• Joshua “Josh” McTavish Brown, 24.

• Anthony “Tony” Keith Christian, 27.

• Billy Ray Hardin, 27.

• Soni Jo Cheesbrough, 27.

• Dennis “Ash” Ashley Miller, 35.

• Jereme Lee Gould, 24.
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Pot-smoking patients and their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for Federal Prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department. For the complete story, check out the Associated Press article in today’s St. Pete Times.

Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, Federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

The guidelines issued by the department do, however, make it clear that Federal agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce Federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate Drug Traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

By the government’s count, 14 states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Some medical marijuana advocates say Maryland shouldn’t be included in that group, because the law there only allows for reduced penalties for medical marijuana usage.

Florida, however, does not permit the medical use of marijuana.

California stands out among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries – businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.

Advocates say marijuana is effective in treating chronic pain and nausea, among other ailments.
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In what is becoming an all-too-familiar story in Pinellas County (and throughout the entire Tampa Bay region), the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office rounded up 21 suspects in a multitiered Oxycodone Trafficking scheme. For the complete story, check out today’s St. Petersburg Times article.Working under the code name “Operation Oxy-Con,” several local law enforcement agencies including the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Clearwater Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started rounding up street level suspects. The operation, which targeted 52 subjects with 122 criminal charges (including Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud and Trafficking in Controlled Substances began in December.

The suspects involved in “Operation Oxy-Con” are part of a Pinellas County prescription drug ring that has obtained over 30,000 pills and made approximately $300,000 since last November.

For those of you that are not yet familiar with the potent pain killer Oxycodone: You will be real soon. As stated by Lt. Robert Alfonso of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, this bust was a huge step in the fight against illegal prescription drug abuse. Alfonso further stated: “This is the new heroin. This is the new cocaine. It really is to that magnitude in Pinellas County.”

The Blake & Dorsten, P.A., in Clearwater, has extensive experience defending prescription drug cases including: Trafficking in Oxycodone, Doctor Shopping and Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud.
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