Friday, February 25, 2000
9 accused of running suburban drug ring
Businesslike operation described
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They met at Todd Klein's townhouse every month or so, arriving in pickups and Mercedes Benz sports cars.
They parked in his driveway in suburban Springdale and walked to the front door carrying empty duffle bags. Some still had on the clothes they'd worn to the office that day.
Once inside, prosecutors said, they gathered around a table piled high with marijuana and Ziploc bags.
And then they went to work.
By the end of the evening, police said, Mr. Klein and his friends packed hundreds of pounds of marijuana into their duffle bags.
Police said the suburban businessmen met regularly for at least eight months before a grand jury finally indicted them Thursday on drug charges.
Mr. Klein and eight others now face felony charges ranging from conspiracy to trafficking marijuana.
Sheriff Simon L. Leis Jr.described the group as one of the largest — and most unusual — drug rings in Hamilton County.
“These are not low-life criminals,” he said Thursday. “These are successful business people who are pushing marijuana and living the high life.”
The defendants include the owner of a barber shop, a partner in an auto dealership, the former owner of a mapmaking firm and several self-employed businessmen.
With help from a supplier in Arizona, Sheriff Leis said, they formed a drug ring that has sold more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana in Greater Cincinnati during the past year.
He said agents for the Regional Narcotics Unit so far have seized more than 200 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about $500,000.
“This is a significant and pervasive trafficking operation,” Prosecutor Mike Allen said. “Their profits on this were huge.”
Although it's not clear just how much money they made, their bank accounts and personal belongings provide a few clues.
One of the defendants, Denver Baehr, is accused of amassing more than $550,000 in several accounts and another $100,000 in Krugerrands and other gold coins.
Mr. Baehr of Long Meadow Drive in Butler County is the owner of the Hair Cutting Man in Colerain Township. But prosecutors don't think he earned his fortune from the barber shop.
The indictment against Mr. Baehr said the bank accounts and gold all could be seized under Ohio's drug forfeiture laws.
Mr. Allen said several other defendants also could lose belongings under the law, which allows police to seize property involved in the sale of drugs.
The seized property includes a Harley Davidson “Sportster” motorcycle, a “Fat Daddy CT” motorcycle, two Mer cedes Benz cars, a Mercury Cougar and about $700,000 cash.
Prosecutors said the defendants ran their drug business the same way they ran other businesses: They were organized, aggressive and out for profits.
They said the defendants picked up the marijuana from Cipriano Rodriquez in Phoenix and drove it in a motor home back to Cincinnati. Upon their return, prosecutors said, the group met at Mr. Klein's townhouse on Gadwell Drive in Springdale.
They said the defendants packaged the marijuana and distributed it at the direction of Thomas McIntosh of Evendale.
Mr. McIntosh's brother-in-law, David Kuhns, said he recently purchased Chamber Map Marketing in Lincoln Heights from Mr. McIntosh. “He was just a normal businessman as far as I'm concerned,” he said. “I don't know anything about this.”
Mr. Kuhns' sister, Susan McIntosh, is charged with conspiracy. “As far as I know, she's not involved in this,” Mr. Kuhns said. “They're using her to get to him.”
He said his sister and her husband lived a “normal, suburban life” in Evendale. “They have a nice house but they're not out there with the rich and famous,” he said.
Those indicted in the case include:
• Mr. McIntosh, on charges of conspiracy, trafficking and possession of marijuana.
• Mrs. McIntosh on a charge of conspiracy.
• Mr. Klein, on charges of conspiracy, trafficking and possession.
• Mr. Baehr, on charges of trafficking and possession.
• Jeffery Geraci of Dunlap Road in Cincinnati, on charges of conspiracy, trafficking and possession.
• Mark Kramer of Day Road in Cincinnati, on charges of possession.
• Carl Wesley of Eagleview Way in Cincinnati, on charges of possession and trafficking.
• Keiron Ashurst, of Hardell Drive in Fairfield, on charges of possession.
• Mr. Rodriquez, of Phoenix, on charges of trafficking.
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