January 27, 2009
DEA Special Agent Douglas S. Collier, M.A.
Public Information Officer
TEL: (973) 776-1143
CELL: (862) 849-9833
Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking and Money Laundering Network Indicted Along with 15 Others as Part of a Racketeering Scheme
JAN 27  -- 
Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin and United States Drug Enforcement Administration ("D.E.A."), New Jersey Division, Special Agent-in-Charge Gerard P. McAleer announce that on January 26, 2009, a Monmouth County Grand Jury returned a 38 count indictment against 16 defendants following a more than one year long investigation into a cocaine trafficking and money laundering network based in Manalapan, N.J
The investigation was initiated in the Spring of 2007. It revealed that Vicente Esteves, 36, of Manalapan, was the leader of a racketeering enterprise which was responsible for the distribution of significant quantities of cocaine to Monmouth County and the surrounding area. The cocaine came from sources across the United States and in other countries. The investigation additionally revealed that Esteves hid the proceeds of his criminal activity through a "money laundering" scheme orchestrated by Dennis Krousos, 45, of Monmouth Beach, N.J., a Certified Public Accountant and Mortgage Banker with an office in Woodbridge, N.J.
The investigation, dubbed "Operation Unbounded," commenced after the D.E.A. received information that the organization was based in Manalapan, N.J., and operating in Middlesex County, N.J. The investigation ultimately revealed that the organization's method of operation was to import cocaine from the Dominican Republic and from Atlanta, Georgia, and to utilize 2 corporations, owned by Vicente Esteves, as well as other financial schemes used by Krousos and Vicente Esteves to launder the financial proceeds of the criminal activities. (For more details concerning the investigation, please see the News Release previously issued by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on June 2, 2008, available on the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office's website, "http://www.prosecutor.co.monmouth.nj.us/").
The investigation revealed that Vicente Esteves employed a number of schemes with various individuals in order to grow his drug trafficking and "money laundering" empire. He was an owner of Diamond Builders of New Jersey, L.L.C., and Bacardi Oil, L.L.C., both of which were legitimate companies that Esteves utilized to launder money. Esteves was a primary trafficker of cocaine on the East coast and he developed routes through Canada and Georgia. In addition, he utilized money couriers to deliver large amounts of money, generally in the amount of approximately $500,000.
The investigation additionally revealed that Rachel Marshall, 37, of Newark, N.J., committed "money laundering" by structuring bank deposits for Leonardo Hernandez in order to purchase real property with cash. She deliberately kept the amount of the bank deposits below $10,000 to avoid the necessity of filing Currency Transaction Reports and in an effort to prevent financial institutions from being obligated to file Suspicious Activity Reports. Marshall also committed "money laundering" by failing to file I.R.S. Form 8300 when she received cash from Hernandez.
The 2009 Edition of the New Jersey Lawyers Diary lists Marshall is an attorney in the State of New Jersey with a law office located in Jersey City, N.J.
Several vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz utilized by Chantal Esteves, Vicente Esteves' wife, were seized during the course of the investigation. Investigators also seized homes and real property owned by Vicente and Chantal Esteves as well as U.S. currency and jewelry. The replacement value of the jewelry seized from the Esteves' Manalapan home was appraised in excess of $2,000,000 The total cash expenditures by Vicente and Chantal Esteves alone were determined to be in excess of $5,000,000 for the past 7 years.
The indictment charges the defendants named therein with a variety of crimes, including, but not limited to, second degree Racketeering Conspiracy, first degree Possession of Controlled Dangerous Substances with Intent to Distribute and first, second and third degree Financial Facilitation of Criminal Activity (commonly referred to as "Money Laundering").
The identity and bail status of the defendants named in the indictment and the crimes which the indictment charges them with are as follows: