Charges dropped in Grayslake drug conspiracy
Drug charges against the second of three brothers accused of running a drug ring out of two family-owned Lake County restaurants has been dropped, authorities said.
The case against Jack Papandreou of Waukegan was dismissed Friday due to a lack of evidence, said Papandreou’s lawyer Ed Edens.
Edens said the state couldn’t prove that Jack was potentially selling drugs out of Jack’s Pizza and Burgers in Grayslake and Waukegan because he was serving time in a federal penitentiary in Indiana.
“At present, the case is dismissed and there is no evidence available for a new indictment to be filed,” Edens said. “Jack was not involved in any conspiracy of drugs being sold out of the restaurant.”
Jack Papandreou and his two brothers, Elias and Kostatino “Gus,” were listed as managers of Jack’s Pizza and Burgers in Grayslake and Waukegan when police investigated and busted up to 18 employees at the restaurants for selling drugs to customers.
The Grayslake restaurant, owned by their mother Anna, has been closed since the investigation and indictments against the Papandreou brothers was released by the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2011.
Elias Papandreou pleaded guilty in October 2011 to a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance with an intent to deliver. He was originally charged with criminal drug conspiracy. He served 40 days in jail and paid a $4,800 fine due to the drug conviction.
Kostatino Papandreou remains at large despite a warrant for his arrest.