October 01, 2008
Contact: Chuvalo J. Truesdell
PIO/AFD
Number: 404-893-7124
Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years for Money Laundering
OCT 01  -- 
RALEIGH  , 
NC -  United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced in federal court here today United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced 
RICARDO ARCE , 33, of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, to 140 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release.
A Federal Grand Jury returned a Superseding Criminal Indictment on May 28, 2008. On July 23, 2008, 
ARCE  pled guilty to money laundering. On September 5, 2008, a controlled transaction occurred, in which an undercover officer posing as a drug trafficker entered El Mexiquense, located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and asked to
wire money to Atlanta, Georgia, without filling out the proper paperwork. The undercover officer made it clear that he had drug proceeds he wanted to transfer to an account in Atlanta, Georgia. The attendant in the store then contacted 
ARCE  to arrange for the transaction. The following day, 
ARCE  instructed the undercover officer to deposit the money into 
ARCE's  business account and then 
ARCE  would transfer the money ($14,000) to a bank account in Atlanta. On September 13, 2008, the undercover officer again contacted 
ARCE  to wire money ($14,300) through 
ARCE's  business.
This case is part of the investigation entitled Operation Trip Wire.
Mr. Holding commented on the importance of this investigation: "In order to obtain and fully eliminate drug trafficking organizations, law enforcement must target all aspects of the system that facilitates their crime. As such, investigators must focus on those that help drug traffickers handle their many and repatriate drug proceeds overseas. That is what this case was all about."
Investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office, and the Rocky Mount Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. James served as prosecutor for the government.
Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA's interactive websites atwww.justhinktwice.com
 andwww.dea.gov