By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(© 2011 Journal Group Link International)

C HICAGO (jGLi) – A Filipino American involved in the distribution of tens of millions of dollars of ecstasy pills and marijuana to the Chicago area and Mexico from Canada was convicted Tuesday (Aug. 9) to serve 30 years of imprisonment.

Ivan Myint, 42, a U.S. citizen, of Gurnee, Illinois, was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Guzman of the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $10,000 to reimburse the government for the buy money that the government expended during the investigation.

Randall Samborn, spokesman for the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office, said Myint was also given an “uncontested $1.5-million forfeiture order.”

Myint was one of 21 people, including four other Filipinos, who were part of a group pushing marijuana and ecstasy pills also known as “MDMA” (methylene-dioxymethamphetamine) south of the border.

The other Filipino co-defendants in the case were Ivan Myint’s younger brother, Michael Myint, 37, of Chicago; Carlo Panadero alias “Chito” or “Ted,” 40, a U.S. permanent resident, formerly of Des Plaines and believed to be in the Philippines; Carlo’s brother, Carlos Panadero, Jr., 31, formerly of Berwyn, Illinois, and Melvin Dumanlang, 29, of Chicago.

Sentencing for Michael Myint is pending while Carlos Panadero and Melvin Dumanlang are both serving sentence in the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Duluth, Minnesota. Carlos, serving 48 months imprisonment, is due to be released on June 20, 2012, and Dumanlang, serving 46 months imprisonment, is due to be released on March 9, 2014.

CARLO PANADERO REMAINS A FUGITIVE

C arlos’ brother, Carlo, has remained a fugitive and is believed to be in the Philippines or elsewhere but has never faced the charges because he has been at large, according to Mr. Samborn.

Only one defendant – Li Xien Wu – had a trial by jury and was convicted and found guilty. He went to trial in April 2010 and was convicted and was sentenced to 97 months in prison.

While the rest of the defendants were convicted after pleading guilty and did not have a trial and gave up their right to have a trial.

There are four other defendants, who remain fugitives in the case. They are Ju Wen Zhou a.k.a. “Goi,”, Kenneth Quoc Luong, Su Jung Chen alias “Tina” and Hanh Nguyen.

All remaining defendants, 19 in all, pleaded guilty and either have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing. No one was acquitted or found not guilty.

The defendants who pleaded guilty were Yvonne Law, who was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment; Susan Chen, three years probation; Yong Ouyang, 46 months; Sejin Oh, a South Korean national, 120 months; Jung Bae, 36 months; Andrew So, 20 months; Henry Chun, sentencing pending; Michael Cruz, sentencing pending; Jorge Huerta, 172 months; Joahan Trujillo, 13 months; Jerry Left, sentencing pending; Jong Chae, sentencing in October; Hubert Cho, sentencing pending; Thomas Lung Lo, 89 months; and Roberto Valdez, sentencing.

21 DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY

All 21 defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and more than 500 grams of mixtures containing methamphetamine and quantities of ecstasy or MDMA.

Drug suppliers, Ju Wen Zhou, 37, and Kenneth Quoc Luong, 35, both believed Canadian citizens and residing at Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, distributed the drug to two trafficking crews. One of the crews was led by Ivan Myint, who was a member of a Filipino based faction of the Latin Kings street gang in Chicago called "Flip City Kings," according to court records.

The other crew were brokered and facilitated by individuals with connections to Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood, including Thomas Man Lung Lo, 33, Yong Ouyang, 36, both of the People's Republic of China and both lawful permanent residents and Li Xien Wu, 36, a U.S. citizen.

In early 2005, Myint was arrested and charged with a federal narcotics offense, but fled to Mexico, where he allegedly attempted to continue his drug trafficking operation in both the United States and in Mexico. He had since returned to the United States and has remained in federal custody after entering a plea of not guilty in that case.

In addition to Oh, others charged in the federal case were: Jong Kyun Chae, 43, of Skokie; Carlo Panadero; his brother, Carlos Panadero, Jr., Melvin Dumanlang; and Henry Chun, 36, of Morton Grove. Also charged were Myint's brother, Michael Myint; Joahan Trujillo, 29, of Chicago; Yvonne Law, 32, of Ontario; and sisters Su Jung Chen, 53, of Ontario; and Susan Chen, 66, of Skokie, according to court records. # # #

Editor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at: (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)