Poker player indicted in drug network bust

Ten Mile man accused of being ringleader in Atlanta-Knox supply

World Series of Poker player Daniel "Gomez" Schleben had a full house in his hand and a house full of cocaine and drug money back home in Ten Mile, federal court records allege.

Schleben is a champion poker player whose card-playing skills earned him a berth in the 2007 World Series of Poker on ESPN. He also is accused of being the Mr. Big of a drug distribution network that federal authorities allege was supplying, among others, the Black Gangster Disciples street gang in Knoxville.

Authorities on Tuesday unveiled an indictment secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracee Plowell from a federal grand jury that links Schleben to major sources of supply in Atlanta, street hustlers in Knoxville and a customer base that included at least some Gangster Disciples.

Attorney Gregory P. Isaacs, hired by Schleben to defend him, declined comment.

"Our firm is in the process of reviewing the allegations," Isaacs said.

Also named in the indictment are alleged Atlanta-based suppliers, Fidel "Jesus" Dominguez Pineda and Bolivar "Jorge" Perez Camacho; Camacho's live-in translator, Yolanda Morales Rivera; and alleged Knoxville dealers Anthony "Hitler" Billingsley, Jesse Goines, Mitchell Cozart and Chad Johnson.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick said search warrants executed in Tennessee and Georgia have led to the seizure of 61 kilograms, or roughly 134 pounds, of cocaine and $2 million in cash.

Court records also detail thousands of dollars in undercover crack sales and allegations that Schleben was buying as much as 10 kilograms a week from Atlanta suppliers. Records show that it was the probe of Gangster Disciple Eric "69" Gillette, who faces a separate federal drug charge, that ultimately led to the secret arrest last month of Schleben.

Gillette was indicted in February but fled, according to U.S. District Court records. He was nabbed in April in Ohio. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Ninth Judicial District Drug Task Force, which covers counties including Roane and Loudon, were probing reports Schleben might be dealing more than aces.

After Gillette's capture, the FBI began an investigative climb up the pipeline from the Gangster Disciples customer base to the chief supplier. According to court records, that supplier turned out to be Schleben.

"On Sept. 25, a cooperating witness, at the direction of law enforcement … made arrangements to purchase approximately two kilograms (from Schleben)," Knoxville Police Department Investigator Todd Gilreath wrote.

The deal was consummated at a boat ramp off Route 72 in Loudon County, Gilreath wrote. Authorities raided Schleben's home later that day, seizing at least $100,000 Schleben allegedly owed Pineda for 6 kilograms that Pineda "fronted" Schleben to sell, according to a complaint drafted by FBI Agent Buddy Early Jr.

The next day an unidentified "cooperating witness" began helping authorities amass evidence against Pineda, who was arrested Oct. 4 at an exit off Interstate 75 near Sweetwater. The same witness later led authorities to Camacho, who was arrested in Atlanta Oct. 11. Authorities seized 23 kilograms of cocaine and $250,000 from his home, records stated.

There are no Gangster Disciples named in the indictment unsealed Tuesday. It is not clear if Gillette is the only gang member to be prosecuted or whether the FBI is continuing a probe of that organization. Only one Knoxville street gang - the Imperial Insane Vice Lords - has ever been successfully prosecuted as a group because most are too loosely constructed to build a conspiracy case against.

Knoxville News Sentinel

News Added: 31 October, 2007

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