Pubdate: Tue, 18 Apr 2000
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2000 The Fresno Bee
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Author: Jerry Bier, The Fresno Bee

CHEMICAL SUPPLIERS CONVICTED

Three Could Face Life In Prison For Selling Meth Ingredients.

A former college chemistry professor and two of his partners in a 
chemical-supply business were convicted Monday of conspiracy involving the 
sale of millions of dollars in chemicals and equipment to clandestine 
Central Valley methamphetamine manufacturers.

The case was the largest prosecution ever of a supplier of chemicals used 
in the manufacture of methamphetamine and signaled what the government 
termed an aggressive attack on the companies that provide the ingredients 
for the illegal drug.

"The trial is emblematic of the commitment of the federal government to 
interrupt the supply of chemicals to the methamphetamine manufacturers, 
whether on the black market or through ostensibly legal businesses," said 
Assistant U.S. Attorney William A. Shipley, the lead prosecutor in the case.

The federal court jury of six men and six women deliberated six days before 
convicting Terry Crandall Mincey, 52, the former majority owner of Custom 
Lab Supply Inc. in Oakland who was indicted in November 1997, along with 
Calvin Roberts, 36, another part-owner of Custom Lab, and Betty Lou Lewis, 
51, a former bookkeeper for the business, of conspiracy and 
money-laundering charges.

A fourth defendant, Richard Simonsen, was acquitted of all charges and 
threw his arms around famed San Francisco defense lawyer Tony Serra after 
the verdicts were read.

Roberts and Mincey, who holds a doctorate degree in chemistry and once 
taught the subject as an assistant professor at the University of 
California at San Francisco, showed no reaction.

Lewis buried her head in her arms on the counsel table as U.S. District 
Judge Robert E. Coyle thanked the jurors for their service and dismissed 
them. She then sobbed in her lawyer's arms.

Coyle remanded all three, who had been out on bail, into custody and set 
Friday for a hearing to determine whether they should be released pending 
sentencing.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, all three are facing a maximum 
of life in prison.

Still to be determined is the amount of money to be forfeited by the 
company, and defense lawyers agreed that Coyle could hear the matter later 
rather than having the jury return.

During the six-week trial, defense lawyers described the defendants as 
honest business people who recorded every dime they received and followed 
all government regulations.

The original indictment returned by a federal grand jury three years ago 
also named Custom Lab as a defendant, but the government in February filed 
a civil action seeking millions of dollars in cash and other assets from 
the company and dropped it from the criminal case.

The trial evidence revealed that between Nov. 1, 1994 and Nov. 1, 1997, 
Custom Lab sold more than $20 million worth of chemicals and equipment used 
by methamphetamine manufacturers throughout the state.

Shipley said at the time of the indictment -- which was announced at a news 
conference in Sacramento -- that the Central Valley has become a major 
battlefield in the war on meth-trafficking organizations.

The case involved some high-powered legal defense. Mincey was represented 
by Fresno lawyer E. Marshall Hodgkins; Roberts was represented by Fresno 
lawyer Anthony Capozzi; Lewis was represented by Ukiah lawyer Ann C. Moorman.

Serra, who represented Simonsen, said after the jury's verdict that 
Simonsen worked in the warehouse as a forklift driver and had no knowledge 
of what was going on with regard to chemicals or cash.

"He's a good man. He deserves his freedom," Serra said. "We appreciate the 
jury saw the truth."

Custom Lab sold the drug manufacturers iodine, red phosphorous, hydrogen 
chloride gas, Freon and sodium hydroxide, along with the 22-liter flasks 
and heating mantles used to "cook" the drug.

The only other chemical needed to manufacture methamphetamine is ephedrine 
or pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in over-the-counter cold medications.

Shipley said that those chemicals comprised more than 85% of the total 
sales of Custom Lab during the three years in question.

Buyers in the transactions at Custom Lab forked over currency, often tens 
of thousands of dollars per visit. On some of those occasions, the buyer 
was a member of a drug task force who pretended to speak no English and 
purchased the chemicals with an informant using cryptic, handwritten lists 
that Custom Lab employees allegedly helped interpret.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents said Custom Lab Supply often made 
sales to individuals before opening its doors to the public at 7 a.m. in 
order to minimize the risk of law-enforcement detection.
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