Alleged drug kingpin – who operates Taos plumbing firm – indicted on tax evasion charges
TAOS – An alleged cocaine distribution ring leader in the Southwest and his family have been indicted on several tax evasion, tax fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges.
A Taos County Grand Jury on Thursday returned indictments against alleged drug kingpin Ismael Adame, 56; his wife, Angela Adame, 56; and their daughter, Jessica Gomez-Adame, 31. The Adames and 18 other suspected cocaine dealers, all from Taos, were arrested by state and federal agents on May 15.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Eight Judicial District Attorney’s Office have accused Ismael Adame of being the ring leader of a criminal operation responsible for trafficking cocaine into Taos County and then distributing it to dealers in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.
“We’re pleased to coordinate this financial investigation with our state and federal partners to put these dangerous individuals out of business in New Mexico,” Demesia Padilla, secretary of the state Taxation and Revenue Department, said in a news release. “These individuals are accused of using their plumbing business as a front to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal cocaine sales in the several southwestern states.”
Ismael Adame was indicted on 52 felony counts: 21 fourth-degree felony counts of tax evasion; four counts (two third- degree felony counts and two fourth-degree felony counts) of tax fraud; 25 fourth-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit tax evasion or tax fraud; one second-degree felony count of money laundering; and one third-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Ismael Adame, who is also president of In and Out Plumbing in Taos, is out on a $250,000 bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 90 years imprisonment and $265,000 in fines.
Angela Adame was indicted on 54 felony counts: 21 fourth-degree felony counts of tax evasion; four counts (two third-degree felony counts and two fourth-degree felony counts) of tax fraud; 25 fourth-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit tax evasion or tax fraud; one second-degree felony count of money laundering; one third-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and two third-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit trafficking by distribution.
Angela Adame, who is Vice President of In and Out Plumbing, was released on a $250,000 bond. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a maximum of 96 years imprisonment and $275,000 in fines.
Jessica Gomez-Adame was indicted on 44 felony counts: 21 fourth-degree felony counts of tax evasion; 21 fourth- degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit tax evasion; and two third-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit trafficking by distribution. She was released on bond. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a maximum of 69 years imprisonment and $220,000 in fines.
A warrant affidavit for the arrest of Angela Adame alleged that In and Out Plumbing underreported hundreds of thousands of dollars in gross revenue, according to the news release from Taxation and Revenue. After subtracting expenses for salaries, materials, vehicles and other costs, the DEA agent who wrote the affidavit suggested the business should have been operating at a “substantial loss.” But the couple did not report a loss on their state tax returns, according the affidavit.
Taxation and Revenue said Ismael Adame has been under the scrutiny of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents since at least 2003, according to documents filed by investigators in the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Court records indicate federal agents turned their attention to the finances of Adame’s business, In and Out Plumbing, in 2010.
The indictments were a result of the investigative efforts of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the Eighth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Taos Police Department and the Tax Fraud Investigations Division of the Taxation and Revenue Department. To report tax fraud against the State of New Mexico, contact the Tax Fraud Hotline at 1-866-457-6789.
