Drug dealer linked to limo scheme pleads guilty
A drug dealer who supplied cocaine to limousine drivers has pleaded guilty in a multimillion-dollar racketeering conspiracy involving a longtime Strip limousine company.
Solomon Zemedhun, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of conspiracy to conduct or participate in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity and in a separate case to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey set his sentencing for Oct. 27.
Zemedhun was one of nine defendants tied to the limousine company, CLS Nevada, charged in a 2012 federal racketeering indictment that also included allegations of fraud and prostitution.
Charles Horky, 53, the company’s CEO, has agreed to plead guilty in the conspiracy on Sept. 25. He has described his company on the Internet as a 24-hour chauffeur-driven service that had contracts with a dozen major resorts.
Two of his top aides pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this month.
Kimberly Flores, 44, the office manager of the limousine company, and Archie Granata, 71, an accountant and financial adviser, each pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy charge. They are to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones on Oct. 16.
According to Zemedhun’s plea agreement with prosecutors, he conspired with one of Horky’s drivers, Dawit Mosazgi, to distribute cocaine for most of 2012. Zemedhun provided Mosazgi with the cocaine and he gave it to other CLS drivers, who sold it to their customers. Mosazgi, 48, is a co-defendant in the case.
Other defendants include limousine drivers James Reda, 39, Clarence Adams, 39, and Mikhail Maleev, 49. They are set to stand trial Nov. 3.
The four-year criminal conspiracy was uncovered by the FBI with the help of months of court-approved wiretaps that, among other things, provided an explicit look inside the prostitution ring authorities said Horky ran.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.
