After arriving in Panama City, Panama on a flight from Colombia on October 11, 2022, Cosme Chacon, 53, was arrested and returned to the United States. On October 13, 2022, he was detained in federal custody and he appeared in court in Chicago, Illinois, USA before U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz.
From November 1999 to October 30, 2002, Chacon, James Valencia, William Anthony Morciglio and Viviana Hernandez allegedly conspired with each other and 21 other people to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a controlled substance. The other defendants were Kelly Jones, Carlos Jiron, Jesus Abel Roldan, David Acevedo, Marcus Jones, Daniel C. Maldonado, Angel George Melendez, Jr., Nathan Thomas, Diana Munoz, Yolanda Rivera, Iris D. Torres, Ruben Chaparro-Ramos, Martha Llanos, Vibencio Consuegra, Shantell Hill, Ricardo Arnold, Miguel Sanchez, Milena P. Pupo, Luis E. Rivera, Juan Lozada and Sandra P. Velasquez.
Hernandez is Chacon’s wife. The couple lived in Chicago where they also had a business.
Valencia, Morciglio, Chacon and Hernandez allegedly participated in a drug trafficking organization that transported heroin to Chicago from other parts of the U.S. including Florida, New York and Texas. A U.S. citizen living in Colombia, Valencia was named the leader of the organization.
After the drugs were sold in Chicago, Chacon allegedly laundered the illicit proceeds through wire transfers to other locations outside the U.S. including Colombia so he was charged with drug conspiracy and money laundering. In 2007, he, Valencia, Morciglio and Hernandez were indicted in Chicago.
While free on bond, Chacon failed to appear for status hearings in the weeks leading up to a scheduled trial date of September 21, 2009 so a warrant was issued for his arrest. On the other hand, Valencia, Morciglio and Hernandez were sentenced to federal prison terms of 16 years, 12 years and one year, respectively, after pleading guilty.
CONAN Daily 