Joe Johnson
Apparently things got a little too high for the owner of a local skydiving company.
Joe Johnson, 43, and Westside Skydivers Houston, located east of Sealy, were indicted in March in Colorado following the bust of an organization that produced marijuana crops there and transported it to Minnesota and Texas where Johnson owned skydiving companies.
Johnson was one of 32 people indicted by a Colorado grand jury on 52 felony counts that include cultivation and distribution of marijuana, racketeering, tax evasion, money laundering, conspiracy and attempt to influence a public servant.
The indictments allege that Johnson used skydiving planes from his businesses in Winsted, Minn., and Sealy to transport marijuana and cash for a Colorado-based drug trafficking organization (DTO). Most of the shipments went to Minnesota.
Ironically, Johnson was caught on the ground in Kansas last June while driving a rented car back to Colorado from Houston with $330,000 in cash and 66 pounds of marijuana that had been rejected by a Texas buyer. The illegal drugs were part of a 100-pound shipment that Johnson had flown down here.
According to the indictment, “Johnson witnessed the prospective Houston customers refuse more than 60 pounds of the total marijuana load, rejecting it on the basis of its poor quality. Johnson received instructions from the DTO to return the remaining marijuana to Colorado. In order to save on the cost of airplane fuel, Johnson rented a car and drove back to Colorado to deliver cash proceeds and the remaining sixty or so pounds of marijuana to the DTO’s leadership.”
After getting caught, Johnson reportedly began cooperating with authorities.
“In attempts to mitigate future punishment, Johnson began working with DEA agents and made a variety of surreptitious recordings of his co-conspirators’ discussions of drug trafficking and money laundering activities,” the indictment says.
The law enforcement investigation was called “Operation Golden Go-fer.” Johnson’s involvement began in 2013 when “a skydiver client … introduced him to Cuyler Gerbich. Gerbich then introduced Johnson to Tri Nugyen at a restaurant in Denver,” the indictment says.
The two men offered Johnson $250 for every pound of marijuana he transported. Johnson figured he would need to ship at least 100 pounds at a time to make it profitable.
“Ultimately realizing the potential of having access to airplanes to transport marijuana, Gerbich and Tri Nguyen conspired with Johnson to transport hundreds of pounds of marijuana virtually undetected from the Denver warehouse grows to Thomas “C.T.” Dispanet in Minnesota,” the indictment says.
Johnson made the first of nearly 10 trips using his skydiving planes sometime in late October or early November of 2013, flying into the Boulder, Colo., municipal airport. Authorities allege Johnson and his two skydiving businesses transported more than 1,500 pounds of marijuana and over $2 million in cash proceeds between Minnesota and Colorado from October 2013 through June 2014.
After getting caught and later making secret recordings of his co-conspirators for authorities, he was approached by officers for further interviews about the organization.
“When questioned about the location of the nearly $100,000 cash Johnson had received from the DTO, Johnson became evasive with interviewing agents,” the indictment says. “Moreover, Johnson attempted to deceive the three investigators and described burying the $100,000 in a particular location Mr. Johnson later confessed that he had never buried the money but instead spent it to pay bills and prop up his skydiving business.”
His local skydiving business was closed in March and a new one has opened in its place at the Gloster Aerodome. The new company, Bayou City Skydivers, is owned by Kristin Merritt and has nothing to do with Johnson.
“We retained a few employees and we have some new staff,” Merritt said.
She said Westside Skydivers Houston operated most of the last year without Johnson around. She also said the airport is owned and operated independently from the skydiving businesses.
“Johnson is no longer welcome at the airport,” she said.
Merritt said she is still working on the marketing side of the business, but does have it open for clients. Her website will go active soon at www.bayoucityskydivers.com. It can also be found on Facebook.
A date for Johnson’s trial has not been set yet. According to Merritt, he was not jailed due to his cooperation with authorities.
Source: http://www.sealynews.com
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