BOSTON, June 13 /PRNewswire/ A Florida man was sentenced to sixteen
years and four months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
United States Attorney Donald K. Stern announced that PAUL
FRANK SIMONDS, 39, of Orlando, Florida was sentenced by U.S. District
Judge Patti B. Saris for his role in a money laundering and marijuana
distribution conspiracy.
Evidence presented at earlier hearings showed that SIMONDS and his
conspirators obtained large quantities of marijuana in Arizona and
transported the marijuana to the East Coast for distribution in Florida,
New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere. The organization also laundered
millions of dollars in drug proceeds. The prosecution resulted in the
forfeiture of millions of dollars in assets, including homes, boats and
automobiles. SIMONDS was the last of 26 defendants to be sentenced.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys George W. Vien of Stern's
Drug Task Force Unit, and Paula A. DeGiacomo and Antoinette E.M. Leoney
of Stern's Major Crimes Unit.