20 Indicted in Multi-State Narcotics Ring that Allegedly Brought Drugs Into Greater Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH — Twenty people were charged on Wednesday with bringing heroin, cocaine and fentanyl into the greater Cleveland area. The group is accused of operating between 2010 and 2016. The accused are from Cleveland, Chicago and New York.

Federal officials seized 64 pounds of cocaine, more than 13 pounds of heroin and more than two pounds of fentanyl during their investigation. Agents also seized several firearms and about $400,000.

The indictment claims that all of the accused worked together starting in 2010, and continued until their arrest this year, to bring drugs into the Greater Cleveland area. Law enforcement says that some of the men indicted have strong links to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The men are believed to have acquired the drugs in Yonkers, New York, and Chicago.

Those named in the indictment are: Ismael Jacinto Acosta, 37, of Cleveland Heights; Alfonso Rodrigo, 36, of Warrensville Heights; David Urrabazo-Maldonado, Jr., 29, of Madera, California; Tennille Bryant, 36, of Yonkers, New York; James Carver, 36, of Yonkers; Van Herron, 34, of Cleveland; Jose Hernandez, 55, of Chicago; Octavio Rodrigo, 60, of Maple Heights; Juan Carlos Solis, 26, of Chicago; Mario Amador-Ramirez, 52, of Cleveland; Roland Francisco Rivera-Erazo, 32, of Honduras; Maurice Walker, 31, of Cleveland; Manuel Maldonado, 37, of Lyndhurst; Reinaldo Hernandez, 27, of Cleveland; Cesar Zambrano-Espinal, 27, of Cleveland; Kelvin Zambrano, 27, of Cleveland; Jonathan Stepp, 32, of Cleveland; Ryan Miller, 33, of Cleveland; Nancy Vargas, 33, of Tolleson, Ariz. and Margaret Fernandez, 35, of Warrensville Heights.

The indictment says Acosta obtained heroin from suppliers in Chicago. Jose Hernandez supplied vehicles with after-market trap compartments to transport hidden drugs and drug proceeds, according to the indictment.

Zambrano-Espinal used a home on West 130th Street in Cleveland to store and distribute the drugs and drug money, and he supplied heroin and cocaine to others, including Stepp, Miller and Reinaldo Hernandez, who in turn sold the drugs in Northeast Ohio, according to the indictment.

The Rodrigos used a house on Maple Heights Boulevard in Maple Heights to store and distribute drugs and drug money, according to the indictment. Maurice Walker, at the direction of Alfonso Rodgrigo, sold drugs and had access to stash houses, according to the indictment.

Jose Hernandez used a commercial bus line to attempt to transport two kilograms of heroin from Chicago to Cleveland, while Bryant transported one kilogram of fentanyl from Yonkers to Cleveland via commercial bus line, the indictment says. Bryant and Carver, working with the Rodrigos and Urrabazo-Maldonado, then transported the kilogram of fentanyl to the Maple Heights Boulevard home, according to the indictment.

Rodrigo and Margaret Fernandez is named in three counts for allegedly using the proceeds of drug sales to purchase several homes through the Cuyahoga County forfeited land sale.

“This organization is responsible for bringing nearly 100 pounds of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl into Northeast Ohio,” U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon said. “Sadly, the death toll continues to mount from this epidemic. Daily we mourn as parents bury their children and children bury their parents. In response, we will continue to aggressively target drug traffickers, while working just as aggressively to reduce the demand for drugs and to provide treatment for those already addicted.”

A recent report from the Democratic staff of the Senate Finance Committee has called Ohio the face of the nation's opioid addiction epidemic, saying that nearly 86 percent of people suffering from dependence or misuse issues do not have access to the care they need. By population, Ohio is the seventh largest state in the nation. However, in 2014, Ohio had the second most deaths by opioid overdose.

In Ohio, the crisis has worsened year after year for several years. In 2015, the number of accidental overdose deaths in the state hit its highest mark ever, 3,050 — an average of eight deaths per day, up from 2014's previous record high of 2,531. That's a 20 percent increase in 12 months. There was a similar 20 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.

“The harm inflicted by these drugs is matched only by the profit potential for those who sell them. Today’s indictment is the culmination of a lengthy effort in which IRS-CI worked with its law enforcement partners to disrupt the flow of money — the lifeblood that allows these organizations to proliferate,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, special agent in charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “This is an important victory for the citizens of Northern Ohio. These individuals not only fueled the drug problem in Northern Ohio, but they supported addiction in several parts of the country.”

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