You never know who lives next door

[crazybird]

Drug trafficking disturbs Naperville neighborhood
$5.7 million worth of cocaine found; two men arrested

February 16, 2007
By Nick Fawell Staff Writer
You never know who lives next door.

That's what several Naperville residents in the Trails of Country Lakes subdivision learned when their neighbor was arrested for aiding the trafficking of millions of dollars worth of cocaine from his residence.

» Click to enlarge image

Neighbors were stunned this week by news of the drug bust at this house on Whispering Winds Drive.
(Terence Guider-Shaw/Staff photographer)

» Click to enlarge image

Larry Dressel, who lives one block from the house where the drug bust occurred, points Sun reporter Nick Fawell in the direction from where the cops were coming in Monday's bust.
(Terence Guider-Shaw/Staff photographer)
About 300 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $5.7 million, was found Monday in the Naperville home.

Drug enforcement agents arrested two men, Jamie Garza, 32, and Ruben Galarza, 26, around 1 p.m. in connection with the trafficking.

Garza, the only person living at the residence, was paid $800 a week by people he said he didn't know to guard the illegal stash, he told authorities. The money was placed in the mailbox weekly. Garza told federal agents that Galarza, an Aurora resident, was his boss in the trafficking operation.

The house, at 30W685 Whispering Winds Drive, was a rental property and neighbors said Garza moved into the house in November. The house is owned by Anuradha and Naga Kakarala, the Naperville Township Assessor said.

Neither federal agents nor the U.S. Attorney's office would disclose background information on the suspects.

Traffic offense led to drug bust
DEA agents followed the two men for half an hour Monday morning before calling Naperville Police for assistance.
Soon after, the men were pulled over by a Naperville police officer for failing to signal before turning. After the men provided two different stories as to where they were going, the officer noticed the scent of marijuana in the car and called a K-9 unit, according to a federal affidavit.

The dogs picked up the scent of narcotics in the car and the officer called DEA agents to the scene, who were then led back to Garza's Naperville residence, with Garza's consent, where the cocaine was found. Three Naperville police patrol cars and a special enforcement investigator, who handles specialized investigations such as narcotics trafficking, assisted DEA agents on the scene.

The drugs, packaged in 300 brick-like cellophane packages weighing around one kilogram each, were found in the garage and basement, the affidavit said.

A stash that large is often destined for major cities around the country, said Gary Olenkiewicz, DEA special agent in charge of the Chicago field division. The Naperville home was an intermediary storage location.

Police also searched Galarza's Aurora home, with his consent, and found a registered semiautomatic handgun, two money counters and more than $4,000 in cash, which Galarza told authorities was from a recent selling of a car.

Neighbors shocked, frightened
Barb Bernardi, 41, lives across the street and was shocked that something like this could happen in the neighborhood, a neighborhood full children.
"There's lots of families here," she said. "It's very quiet. ... It's very surprising that someone like that would be living here."

For Bernardi and her husband, Steve, 35, who have two children, 7 and 4, the threat is even more disturbing.

"It's really scary," she said. "I have two small children, and there's a lot of children in this neighborhood."

But this is not the first time Olenkiewicz in his 23-year career has seen such a large amount of illegal narcotics stored in a quiet suburban setting.

"It's not uncommon," he said. "Drug traffickers have become very comfortable in suburban neighborhoods. They try and fit in so they don't draw attention to themselves or their illegal activities."

Neighbors noted that Garza kept a very low profile and people were rarely seen at the house.

Garza and Galarza are charged with possession with intent to distribute in excess of 5 kilograms of cocaine, which carries a sentence of between 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $4 million, Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Brown said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

Olenkiewicz said this is the biggest cocaine seizure in his 8-month tenure as DEA Chicago field division chief.

"This is a big seizure, make no mistake about it," Olenkiewicz said. "This is significant."

Contact Nick Fawell at nfawell@scn1.com or 630-416-5196.


http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/nape ... S1.article

[Neese]

This is the honest truth. Years ago I lived next door to a young couple who pretty much kept to themselves. He seemed a little rough around the edges, but he still seemed okay to me. As time went on, we noticed some shady looking guys showing up, which was completetly out of the ordinary for our neighborhhod. Most people had little kids, and they just seemed out of place. Occasionally, I would get people knocking on more door (yes, creepy ones) asking me where our neighbor was. Of course, I did not know, I only spoke to them a few times. Another time, an older man came over claiming that he was her dad, of course he wasn't, although like an idiot I invited him to use our phone. Another night, we though they were moving out, just to find out later that he sold the appliances out of the house that he was renting. (Although houses in the neighborhood were not supposed to be rented). I noticed an odd car in front of our house with a man just sitting there, so I called the cops. They said they were staking this guy out because he had a warrant or something. All the neighbors were freaking out and made the kids stay indoors just to be safe. Occasionally, I would hear the water spicket turn on while I was inside the house. I went outside to see food laying on the side of the house. (Apparently, his utilities were turned off and needed our water supply).When we walked the dog, we would find this guys mail laying on the side of the road. Apparently he was using a false ID and had no intentions of paying his bill so he must have just thrown it out the window. The grand finally was when the cops were chasing him through the neighborhood and arrested him at his house. Apparently, they were also trying to scam some people by giving them a break on the sales price of "their house" if they paid a cash deposit. The cops said that the entire house was trashed with holes in the walls and only a mattress on the floor. Needless to say, that was the most excitement our neighborhood ever saw. I was grateful that he only left discarded food in my yard and stold my cable, it could have been a lot worse.

[GREGAGREATAMERICAN]

The faster they move in ,the faster we move um OUT !

If you want good neighbors you got to be one first

[Neese]

The faster they move in ,the faster we move um OUT !

If you want good neighbors you got to be one first

Yeah, that it explains it. I took care of his puppy that he left in the back yard without food or water, so that has to count.

[GREGAGREATAMERICAN]

The faster they move in ,the faster we move um OUT !

If you want good neighbors you got to be one first

Yeah, that it explains it. I took care of his puppy that he left in the back yard without food or water, so that has to count.

Now thats a shame