Three men who traveled cross country, and a fourth who came from abroad, found themselves locked up in the McHenry County jail Sunday night, accused of taking part in a $100,000 drug deal in Crystal Lake.
The arrests came after local police, acting on what they called an "international tip," observed the alleged sale of about 50 pounds of marijuana in a residential part of the city and followed the suspects to the Schaumburg area before arresting them, authorities said.
"This was high yield stuff," Master Sgt. Tim Sebastian of the North Central Narcotics Task Force said of the marijuana seized in the arrests. "If (most marijuana) were hamburger, then this was T-bone steak."
Arrested were Brian M. Walkosz, 33, of Ukiah, Calif.; Stephen D. Lederman, 30, of Kings Beach, Calif.; Gregory M. Atherton, 29, of Tahoe City, Calif.; and Richard P. Krug, 37, of Costa Rica.
All four are charged with delivery and possession of more than 5,000 grams of marijuana and could face a mandatory six to 30 years in prison if convicted. All but Atherton remained in the county jail Monday afternoon, unable to post the $8,000 bond set for each earlier in the day.
Sebastian said the Krug and Walkosz are childhood friends who grew up together in McHenry County before moving to separate parts of the world. The investigation launched after an Interpol tip, he said, determined that Krug served as a broker to the deal that was to be consummated Sunday night when the four men met Crystal Lake.
Lederman, Sebastian said, drove from California, the marijuana stowed in a hidden vehicle compartment. The rest flew into town over the weekend, he said.
After observing the suspected transaction, Sebastian said, task force agents and Crystal Lake police tailed the suspects as they drove into Cook County, stopping them eventually near Route 53 and Algonquin Road. Police seized the marijuana and about $8,000 cash during the arrests.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=362760
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