Cartoon busted!

[blablablasted]

Just got home and read this:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidrug1207,0,3483940.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

I guess it was just a matter of time. Frankly, I'm suprised I've never heard of one of the services getting busted before. As far as I can tell, Cartoon was probably the biggest and most well known. Now, the cops have this huge customer database, although I'm sure nothing will come of it. I love the part about not mentioning the rich and famous clients, because they might not be true. Crazy. They say at least 4 others are under investigations. I wonder which? Things could start getting really shitty in NYC.

 

[nycnoob]

Not cool.. I have never ordered from them or any delivery service.. But seriously not cool X=

Heres the story from the link

BY ROBERT E. KESSLER
STAFF WRITER

December 7, 2005

A drug organization calling itself the Cartoon Network delivered high-grade marijuana to the doors of affluent clients in New York City and Long Island who identified themselves on the phone with the code-word "cartoon," according to court documents.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested more than a dozen members of the 20-person network in the past week, according to sources familiar with the case.

Customers paid $100 for 2 grams of the drug, which was packed in plastic vials to contain the odor. The vials were recently embossed with "Merry Christmas," the sources said.

"It is the best," one source said of the quality of drug-ring's marijuana. "They called regular marijuana 'Grandma.' "

More than 80 agents were involved in the raids. Drug Enforcement Administration agents have seized computers containing the records of 50,000 phone calls in the past six months. The network's members meticulously kept track of their clients, their orders, and the delivery locations, according to court records.

The network has been in operation since 1999 and is one of at least four in the metropolitan area that have been under investigation for "door-to-door" home delivery of marijuana.

The multimillion-dollar organization bragged over federal wiretaps that its clientele included professional athletes, entertainment figures and other high-profile professionals, according to sources familiar with the case.

The sources were reluctant to identify the high-profile clients named on wiretaps because they are not sure whether some of them might have been mentioned just as a way of boasting.

But a team of federal agents has been going over the actual telephoned orders seized during the recent arrests to determine who were the actual customers, the sources said.

The reputed head of the network, John Nebel, 33, who has homes in Rosedale and Bay Shore, was arraigned Monday in federal District Court in Central Islip on charges of distributing large quantities of drugs.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years in prison and as much as life, according to federal sentence guidelines.

Nebel and a dozen alleged members of the network who have been arrested in the past week have been held without bail after arraignment before federal Magistrate Arlene Lindsay.

Nebel's attorney, Douglas Burns of Garden City, declined to comment yesterday. Federal officials also declined to comment on the case.

The Cartoon Network was a highly structured operation, with a network of suppliers, managers and couriers, according to court records.

The managers operated a daily call center, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., in which customers would identify themselves using the code-word 'cartoon.'The location of the call center shifted weekly among rooms in Long Island and in New York hotels.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

 

[nycnoob]

Other story by newsday

By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer

December 7, 2005, 7:12 PM EST

NEW YORK -- A sophisticated drug ring delivered high-grade marijuana to the doorsteps of thousands of regular customers _ including celebrities _ during the last six years in Manhattan and on Long Island, authorities said Wednesday.

Since Nov. 17, federal and local agents have arrested 12 suspects on money laundering and drug conspiracy charges, including John Nebel, the alleged head of the organization known as the Cartoon Network. A call to Nebel's attorney was not immediately returned.

Authorities said they suspect customers included the rich and famous but refused to give any names. Electronic surveillance intercepted one conversation in October in which a courier boasted to a possible recruit about the ring's clientele, court papers said.

"We know comedians. We know celebrities," he said. "So you might meet a rapper, a singer. We go to a lot of people."

Authorities estimate that between 1999 and this month, the ring made a fortune by distributing more than a ton of hydroponic marijuana grown in Canada. An indictment seeks forfeiture of $22 million in cash, homes, cars, motorcycles and a boat.

Customers placed orders by calling a pager number. A roving call center, sometimes located in a hotel room, would then contact the customer, confirm his or her identity on a computerized database and take orders averaging between $100 and $500.

The call center averaged 600 calls a day from 50,000 phone numbers, court papers said. The marijuana was packaged in plastic containers _ sometimes referred to as "jars of sauce" _ and delivered to the customers' doors by a team of couriers.

Investigators said they have seized $837,000 worth of drugs and $685,000 in cash. During a raid on one stash house, agents found "more than 30 pounds of marijuana, in open and plain view, and already packaged for retail holiday delivery to Cartoon Network customers," court papers said.

The packages featured the network's cartoon character logo and a warm greeting: "Happy Holidays From Your Friends at Cartoon!"


Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

.....in the land of free enterprise......a properly managed and profitable enterprise employing many people and with many happy customers is taken down by the down-presser men, and those that operated this good service will probably have to go to jail for a long time.....


.....all over A PLANT!........how absolutely ridiculous!


....This sort of travesty just makes good weed more expensive to those that do not grow their own.....

 

[buhdyman]

on a lighter note the pigsy here in sonoma county USA do garden inspections upon requests made to the district attourneys . I would love to get ahold of there photo album. un fortunately when one plays the bigshot roll you have to expect bigshot treatment. by the way i enjoyed the video of your visit to uncle eddies garden. he was my first customer when I started blowing glass 6 years ago

 

[mosca negra]

Well said Gypsy! It's the gov't exercising control for the sake of repression..

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!

MOSCA NEGRA

 

[Guest]

just 1 second--

cartoon had it coming,
they were charging these crazy prices to those using for medical and recreational use alike. 2 grams for ONE HUNDRED USD is WRONG

karma bit these fools where the sun don't shine...

THEY WERE RIPPING OFF MEDUSERS

 

[Guest]

The price is the price,what ever the market will bear,were does this whole"the meduser" shouldnt have to pay market price come from?To say they had it commin,well that aint rite.No one deserves jail over a plant.Believe it or not,more people than you realize rely on weed money!It's the new cash crop in america,and no-one should be jailed for it.imo

 

[Verite]

I heard they were going to be taken over by a japanese gang, new code word, Manga.

 

[Guest]

red, sorry..

 

[Guest]

I can not show any sympathy for those in this situation as I feel none. Those who wish to capitalize in such a manner know the rules of the game they play. Weed can't just be worth what a fool is willing to pay for it if we want the Herb Legal. We need to take the Money OUT of the equation. I too Give my weed away. To offset those who wish it to remain illegal and highly profitable.

 

[Chamba]

When it comes to crime, (if you can call the victimless crime of selling 2 grams a "crime" that is) You have to have a "use by date"

those guys were switched on and did this successfully for a long time but made the mistake of not knowing when to stop....the cops seized 22 million! ..if they don't jail them on distribution then they could be jailed for tax evasion, Rico and a host of other charges...you have to know wehn to stop

when dealing or doing anything illegal, make sure to set a goal to reach or set a date in the future and then retire and do something else..cos no matter how good you are, or how careful you are, eventually you will feel the heavy hand of the law on your shoulder (or if we are talking about the US, you will feel the weight of 15 loaded guns with the safetys off aimed at your body)

 

[vodka]

I can not show any sympathy for those in this situation as I feel none. Those who wish to capitalize in such a manner know the rules of the game they play. Weed can't just be worth what a fool is willing to pay for it if we want the Herb Legal. We need to take the Money OUT of the equation. I too Give my weed away. To offset those who wish it to remain illegal and highly profitable.

The reason the product costs so much is because it's illegal. The people providing this service need to turn a profit enough to justify the risk of losing they're freedom. I hope they have set enough aside to pay for their court cost and legal fees.

You won't be able to take the money out of weed until it's made legal.

 

[Guest]

Well it seems they caught a retail op. A shame , howeverf a good thing of the article is that no grow equipment was taken. Meaning they werent growers so perhaps the real supplier is still out there ready to have a new network set up. as long as noone rats.

I am sure there are some grows upstate NY that wont be effected by bust and still get product out. Demand is still there so DEA is wasting time. Let them chase their tails

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Fifty a gram??? Sounds like karma is infallible

 

[sparobis]

hello folks,
i live just a few miles from the canadian border...they have made a few large busts at the bridges coming threw ontario to buffalo ny.the grow warehouses in ontario grow the hydro bc bud.always is this weed still wet when it gets here!
they donot take the time to flush,dry,cure the weed before the distribute the weed.
50 bucks a gram?thats ridiculous...i was paying 200$ an ounce for this stuff..decent but not that great to gharge 50$ a gram to mm users.the buds are very dense,orange
and very heavy...when u buy it ....its wet and you can barely smoke it!you actually have to wait a week to dry the shit so you can actually get a decent hit..then,it loses its weight and burns like shit!!!when your done you have a sore throat from sucking your ass off and a small little black ball of chemical byproducts..im glad i can grow for my self now and dont have to buy this crap!my 2 cents on the whole canadian grow hydro bc bud bullshit
peace
sparo

 

[Tandare]

50 a gram is a rediculas price.
However this company was not all profit.
I am sure they had great expenses.
The people that could afford to pay keep people like this in operation.
The best thing to do is dont pay rediculas prices.
Either they come down on the price or they invest their money into something more profitable.
I would never even consider paying 50 a gram.
But I feel bad for anyone who had a good thing going who got busted.
A victimless crime.
I am sure this ordeal will cost its owners a heavy price.
As long as the laws keep this product illigal.
The price may be higher to help pay legal fees if things go wrong like they have for Cartoon's owners who may very well serve the rest of his life in jail.
As for a bust.
The law does not exclude low prices to high prices.
Anyone caught gets busted.
Tandare

 

[Verite]

I'll give away all the free weed in the world when it no longer becomes dangerous for me to do so, until then I intend to profit as much as I can since I put a hefty price on my continued persecution. If I cant make the karmic balance with material I'll do it with knowledge and inspiration to others to grow. In the long run they may be able to stop me but in no way will they be able to stop the waves and ripples I have already made.

 

[Guest]

some pics i found. I just think the cops said they charge 50 a gram cause they always inflate the prices in the reports they do, looks like good bud though

another group will take there place in a month or less i bet

 

[junit]

Ya seems exsessive but.... it is NYC, and these are not your average dealers. Sucks.