California Man Convicted Of Federal Drug Charges
BANGOR, MAINE - - John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced today that Mark Razo, 23, of El Monte, California, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine; and of using a telephone to commit a federal drug felony, following a five-day jury trial in U.S. District Court in Bangor.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Razo operated an interstate drug conspiracy while incarcerated in a California state prison using contraband cellular telephones. In June 2011, Drug Enforcement (DEA) agents in Portland, Maine, who were monitoring a court-authorized wiretap, learned that Razo had arranged for a four-pound shipment of pure methamphetamine to Iowa. Law enforcement personnel in Ottumwa, Iowa seized this shipment. Agents also learned that Razo arranged for the distribution of other drugs across the United States.
The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years, a maximum penalty of life and a fine of up to $10,000,000. The telephone counts carry a maximum penalty of eight years and a fine of up to $250,000. He will be sentenced after completion of a presentence report by the United States Probation Office.
This case was investigated by DEA, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the (Maine) Sheriff’s Office, the Southeast Iowa Drug Task Force, the Wapello (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office, investigators from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the (Connecticut) Police Department, the (Maine) Police Department, and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
