2 filmmakers indicted in Las Vegas spice operation
Two independent filmmakers have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas in what authorities say was an operation that unlawfully manufactured, misbranded and distributed the synthetic drug "spice" across the country.
Charles Burton Ritchie, 45, of Park City, Utah, and Benjamin Galecki, 41, of Pensacola, Fla., are facing an array of felony charges in the 35-page indictment, including distribution of a controlled substance, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The two men, who founded Heretic Films in Park City in 2012, were among a dozen people charged in a similar drug distribution indictment unsealed in Virginia earlier this month. They were arrested in Pensacola and ordered transported to Virginia to face the charges.
Much of the illicit activities of the two men in Las Vegas occurred in 2012, when they formed a company to manufacture spice at a warehouse here, according to the indictment.
The product was distributed in small travel-size packets or vials to tobacco shops and adult novelty stores under such names as, "Bizarro, Headhunter, Avalanche, Neutronium, Sonic Zero and DEFCON 5 Total Annihilation."
Between June and July 2012, the spice company manufactured roughly 200 kilograms of the synthetic drug a week in Las Vegas, the indictment alleges.
When spice is smoked or ingested, it causes an hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system, according to the indictment.
Ritchie, who also has maintained a residence in Pensacola, and Galecki marketed the drug as not being fit for human consumption, but in reality sold it for consumption without proper label warnings of its health risks, the indictment alleges.
No arraignment dates for the defendants have been set in the case, which is before Senior U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson.
The case is being prosecuted jointly by the Nevada U.S. attorney's office and the Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section in Washington, D.C.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ
