Two-year drug investigation nets suburban family
Four family members from the suburbs have been charged with operating a cocaine distribution ring, following a two-year FBI investigation.
The probe, with assistance from the DuPage County Sheriff's office and police in Glendale Heights, Melrose Park, Streamwood and West Chicago began in May 2008 and ended Wednesday, according to federal officials. The investigation relied on court-authorized monitoring of telephones used by targeted suspects.
Authorities identified Jose Zuno Jr., 24, of Streamwood as the operation's ringleader along with his 25-year-old brother Ismael Zuno. Jose was arrested Wednesday without incident by federal agents and local police. Ismael of Melrose Park was also charged as a result of the investigation. He has been imprisoned since March 2009, first on an unrelated drug conviction and also murder charges for which he is awaiting trial, authorities said. The brothers had ties to area street gangs, according to court papers.
The documents include transcripts of several phone calls between the brothers that detailed an ongoing cocaine-dealing enterprise.
The brothers' 25-year-old cousin, Juan Zuno of Bolingbrook, also faces drug trafficking charges as a result of the investigation. The final relative arrested was the brothers' 28-year-old brother-in-law, Juan Rochel of Elgin, whom authorities say supplied the brothers with the drugs.
Authorities seized more than eight kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $215,000, 400 grams of methamphetamine and large quantities of marijuana during the course of the investigation. More than $200,000 in cash was recovered, court papers indicate.
Jose Zuno Jr. and Juan Zuno were ordered held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, and Rochel was released on a continuation of a previous bond, federal officials said. Ismael Zuno has yet to appear in court related to the new charges.
FBI officials said a Chicago couple also was arrested in February in connection with the investigation. The charges against 21-year-old Jennifer Camana and 39-year-old Julio Gomez-Bravo are still pending. Rochel was also arrested then along with the Chicago pair.