Mar. 28, 2007

Underworld kingpin Rosenstein returns to Israel in extradition

Ze'ev Rosenstein, landed at Ben Gurion airport on Wednesday morning to continue serving his prison term in Israel. Rosenstein, 52, the Israeli described by US authorities as one of the world's biggest drug traffickers, was sentenced by US District Judge William Dimitrouleas to 12 years in prison, to be served in Israel as part of the deal. He was taken to Ayalon prison by Israel Prison Service personnel after having served two years of his sentence abroad. Rosenstein will remain imprisoned in Israel for an additional 10 years. AP contributed to this report.

'Al Capone Of Israel' Issues Plea, Avoids Trial

17/1/07

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An Israeli described by authorities as one of the world's biggest drug traffickers pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to import more than 1 million Ecstasy pills into the United States.Defendant Ze'ev Rosenstein's guilty plea in federal court came just one week before his trial was expected to begin.

http://www.local10.com/news/10763797/detail.html

Zeev Rosenstein - Poison Championship Extradition to US Exclusive Document

זאב רוזנשטיין - הסגרת אלוף הרעל לארה"ב מסמך בלעדי

USA v. ZEEV ROSENSTEIN – PLEA AGREEMENT

USA v. ZEEV ROSENSTEIN - CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

USA v. ZEEV ROSENSTEIN - INDICTMENT

ISRAELI DRUG TRAFFICKER PLEADS GUILTY AND IS SENTENCED

January 16, 2007

The charges against Rosenstein stem from the seizure of more than 700,000 Ecstasy tablets from a Manhattan, New York apartment. The underlying investigation was developed by federal and state authorities in Miami when a jointly controlled DEA and Miami-Dade Police Department informant was approached by a Rosenstein associate who offered to sell the informant Ecstasy on consignment from a load hidden in New York. Miami-Dade Police Department detectives in Miami passed the informant's information to detectives in New York, who followed a courier to an apartment in Manhattan, obtained a search warrant, and seized more than 700,000 pills and $187,000.00. Law enforcement officials later determined that Rosenstein was one of the individuals responsible for financing the shipment of the pills to the United States, and that Rosenstein was an integral part of the conspiracy and was involved in many of the decisions regarding the sale of the Ecstasy pills. In addition to this seizure, the Indictment against Rosenstein covered a two year period during which Rosenstein played a key role in a sophisticated international drug trafficking network. On March 7, 2006, Ze’ev Rosenstein was extradited from Israel to the United States to face trial.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta stated, “Today’s guilty plea and sentencing mark the demise of a major international drug trafficking organization whose operations spanned four continents and involved the shipment of well over one million Ecstasy pills to the United States. The conviction of Rosenstein is the final chapter in an unprecedented joint effort between the United States and Israel. Today’s investigation and prosecution is an example of the results that can be achieved when law enforcement efforts cross international boundaries to combat multinational drug trafficking organizations.”

“Americans and Israelis -- and citizens of every other country Ze'ev Rosenstein sent his poisonous pills to -- are rejoicing today with this kingpin's conviction,” said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. “Today's guilty plea by the most infamous criminal in Israel is also a resounding victory for our children, who are specifically targeted by traffickers of Ecstasy. This is a drug that is produced, packaged, and marketed to our young people, and it is a drug that science now tells us can cause serious physical damage with even a single use.”

Mr. Acosta noted that this case would not have been possible without the extraordinary joint efforts of the United States and Israeli authorities, including the Israel Ministry of Justice and the Israel National Police (“INP”). In particular, Mr. Acosta thanked the Tel Aviv Central Unit of the INP and the Tel-Aviv District Prosecutor’s Office for their tireless efforts in this case. Mr. Acosta also expressed his thanks to the INP office at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. In addition, Mr. Acosta commended the efforts the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section in Washington (NDDS); the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York; the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs; the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Foreign Operations Division, and DEA-Nicosia; the Miami-Dade Police Department Narcotics Squad; the Glades County Sheriff’s Office; the Hialeah Police Department, and the New York Police Department Queens Narcotics Major Case Squad. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Greenberg and Michael Sullivan.

U.S. Department of Justice

R. Alexander Acosta
United States Attorney for the
Southern District of Florida


March 7, 2006

EXTRADITED ISRAELI DRUG LORD APPEARS IN
FEDERAL COURT TO FACE ECSTASY DRUG CHARGES

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Karen P. Tandy, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, announced that defendant, Ze’ev Rosenstein, made his initial appearance in federal court today after being extradited from Israel on March 6, 2006. Rosenstein is charged by Indictment with conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy and conspiracy to import Ecstasy. If convicted on these charges, he faces a term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years as to each count. At the initial appearance this morning, the United States requested that Rosenstein be held in pretrial detention. A hearing on the government’s motion and arraignment has been set for March 28, 2006, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida before U.S.Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow.

A significant part of the case against Rosenstein is based on the seizure of approximately 700,000 Ecstasy pills in July 2001. The Indictment also covers a two year period during which Rosenstein headed a sophisticated drug trafficking network whose operations spanned four continents and involved the shipment of well over one million Ecstasy pills to the United States. The July 2001 seizure occurred after one of Rosenstein’s co-conspirators sold a sample of the Ecstasy pills to a confidential source in New York. The next day, investigators with the New York Police Department executed a search warrant and arrested two Israeli nationals who subsequently stated that prior to distributing any of the pills they would receive instructions from other co-conspirators in Israel. Law enforcement officials later determined that Rosenstein was one of the individuals responsible for financing the shipment of the pills to the United States. It was also determined that one of the main brokers connecting potential buyers with potential sellers was also passing information to Rosenstein through another co-conspirator. In essence, all decisions about the sale of the pills were run through Rosenstein, placing him at the center the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta stated, “By joining forces with our law enforcement colleagues in Israel, today's prosecution disrupts and dismantles a major international drug trafficking operation. Rosenstein is alleged to have headed a sophisticated drug trafficking network whose operations spanned four continents and involved the shipment of well over one million Ecstasy pills to the United States. The best way to keep our children and our streets free of drugs is to continue to prosecute cases like today's, where the quantities of drugs and the breadth of the trafficking network reach into countless American neighborhoods.”

“Rosenstein has orchestrated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of Ecstasy tablets into American neighborhoods," said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. "Today, we answer his crime with the consequence criminals fear most: extradition to the United States. DEA stands firmly with our Israeli partners in this battle against drugs, and we will not relent until drug traffickers, from the kingpins to the street dealers, are behind bars."

Mr. Acosta noted that this case would not have been possible without the extraordinary joint efforts of the United States and Israeli authorities, including the Israel Ministry of Justice, the Israel National Police (“INP”), and the INP office at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. For nearly five years, the prosecution of Rosenstein has involved the close and full cooperation of the Tel-Aviv District Attorney’s Office and the Tel Aviv Central Unit of the INP.

In addition, Acosta commended the efforts of Michael F. Walther, formerly Deputy Chief, of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section in Washington (NDDS), for his leadership in coordinating the U.S. side of the case. In addition, Mr. Acosta expressed his gratitude to Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, for her Office’s aid in the investigation, which included detailing Jed Davis, an Assistant United States Attorney in her Office, to assist NDDS and the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Acosta also commended the efforts of Trial Attorney Blair Berman of the Office of International Affairs; DEA Special Operations Division; DEA Foreign Operations Division; DEA-Nicosia; the Miami-Dade Police Department Narcotics Squad; the Glades County Sheriff’s Office; the Hialeah Police Department, and the New York Police Department Queens Narcotics Major Case Squad. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Greenberg and Michael Patrick Sullivan, and DEA HIDTA Group 44.

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on the Extradition - AP

March 6, 2006

Alleged Israel Mob Boss Extradited to U.S.

ARON HELLER

The Associated Press

Monday, March 6, 2006; 4:57 AM

JERUSALEM -- A suspected Israeli mob boss described by U.S. prosecutors as one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers was extradited to the United States on Monday, police said.Zeev Rosenstein is suspected in the distribution of more than 1 million Ecstasy pills in the United States, mostly in New York and Miami.He was handed over to U.S. marshals at Ben Gurion International Airport and taken aboard a direct El Al flight to Miami, where he will face drug charges, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030600249.html

Rosenstein Extradition from Israel - Streaming 6/3/06

Poison Championship

ESCORTED: An Israeli policeman escorts suspected Israeli drug kingpin Zeev Rosenstein (L) to a flight bound to Miami at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on March 6. Israel extradited Rosenstein to the US on Monday to stand trial on charges of heading an international drug-smuggling syndicate. Rosenstein, responsible for distribution of more than 1 million Ecstasy pills in US Between 1999 – 2001 . Rosenstein's organization is on the Drug Enforcement Administration's list of 44 top worldwide drug traffickers. "In a two-year period, Rosenstein's criminal cartel was involved in the shipment of at least one million pills of Ecstasy to the United States," Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta told a news conference. "That's a lot of pills." – REUTERS

November 2004

U.S. Department of Justice

Marcos Daniel Jiménez
United States Attorney for the
Southern District of Florida

November 08, 2004

ZE'EV ROSENSTEIN ARRESTED IN ISRAEL
ON U.S. DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGES

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert J. Joura, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced today that defendant, Ze’ev Rosenstein, was arrested in Tel Aviv, Israel this morning based on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiring to distribute over 700,000 tablets of 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as “MDMA” and “Ecstasy,” in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 846. Rosenstein’s arrest marks the culmination of a lengthy collaborative effort by the U.S. Department of Justice and Israel Ministry of Justice prosecutors and investigators from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Israel National Police (“INP”).

Rosenstein, who is named in the Attorney General's Consolidated Priority Organization Target (“CPOT”) list, was arrested on a complaint filed in Miami, Florida and unsealed today. The charges against Rosenstein stem from the July 2001 seizure of more than 700,000 Ecstasy tablets from a Manhattan, New York, apartment. The underlying investigation was developed by federal and state authorities in Miami when a jointly controlled DEA and Miami-Dade Police Department informant was approached by a Rosenstein associate who offered to sell the informant Ecstasy on consignment from a load stashed in New York. Miami-Dade Police Department detectives in Miami passed the informant’s information to detectives in New York, who tailed a courier to an apartment in Manhattan, obtained a search warrant, seized more than 700,000 pills and $187,000.00 in United States currency, and arrested two individuals found inside the apartment with the drugs. A grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an Indictment and a Superseding Indictment against two individuals seeking to purchase a portion of the pills. These two individuals pleaded guilty.

Thereafter, the INP advised DEA headquarters of evidence suggesting that Rosenstein had organized the seized load. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami soon obtained a second superseding indictment against the occupants of the New York stash house. These individuals also pleaded guilty. A third superseding indictment was then obtained against Rosenstein lieutenant Shemtov Michtavi. Michtavi was convicted by a Miami jury in September and is awaiting sentencing.

"The arrest of Ze’ev Rosenstein is the result of extraordinary close and creative cooperation between U.S. and Israeli law enforcement," said Attorney General John Ashcroft. "It is a significant step forward in our common struggle against trans-border organized crime and international narcotics trafficking that will make both of our countries safer."

"Ze’ev Rosenstein, as charged, is a drug trafficker who poured hundreds of thousands of deadly Ecstasy pills into America’s neighborhoods. DEA and our Israeli partners banded together like never before to make the children of our nations safer,” said DEA Administrator Karen Tandy.

"This case sends the message to drug traffickers that we will pursue them no matter where in the world they might be," said Mr. Jiménez. "The prosecution of sophisticated international drug traffickers continues to be a high priority of this Office. This case would not have been possible without the joint efforts of United States and Israeli authorities, including the Israel Ministry of Justice and the Israel National Police."

Since the late-1990's ecstasy trafficking from Western Europe to the United States has largely been controlled by Israeli-led criminal groups in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. As the result of a weeklong conference that the INP convened in Tel Aviv in early 2001 organized by the Tel Aviv Central Unit of INP, federal agents and their Israeli counterparts began exchanging leads on a more regular and disciplined basis. Dozens of arrests in the U.S., Israel, and across Europe, as well as seizures of millions of Ecstasy tablets destined for the U.S. market, resulted from this U.S.-Israeli law enforcement partnership.

Coordination efforts deepened in late 2003 after a rival criminal organization attempted to assassinate Rosenstein using a bomb planted outside his office in Tel Aviv. Three innocent bystanders were killed and dozens more were injured. The investigation of Rosenstein required cooperation between, among others, Israeli prosecutors in the Tel Aviv District and in the Department of International Affairs in the Israel Ministry of Justice, INP officers based in Tel Aviv and at the Special Operations Division of the Intelligence Department at INP Headquarters in Jerusalem, DEA agents in the U.S. and overseas and the United States Attorneys for Southern District of Florida and the Eastern District of New York. This cooperation has been closely coordinated through the INP liaison office in Washington, D.C. and American prosecutors assigned to the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section at the Department of Justice.

Rosenstein’s arrest also highlights the impact of DOJ’s drug enforcement priority targeting strategy. In March 2002, the Attorney General announced a comprehensive six-part drug enforcement strategy for DOJ. The strategy relies on the talent and expertise of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies to identify and target the most significant drug supply organizations and their related components. The central element of the strategy was the development of the CPOT List, a unified list of international “command and control” drug traffickers and money launderers. Rosenstein’s arrest brings to approximately 37 the number CPOT targets charged nationally since the list was created. Of those targets, eight (8) have been charged in the Southern District of Florida.

Mr. Jiménez commended the efforts of Michael F. Walther, Deputy Chief, of the Department of Justice’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Jed Davis, an Assistant United States Attorney in her Office; Blair Berman, Trial Attorney, Office of International Affairs; and Brigadier General Simon Perry, Attache & Liaison Officer to the United States, who coordinated matters for the government of Israel.

Mr. Jiménez also commended the investigative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, including the DEA Special Operations Division, the DEA Foreign Operations Division, and the DEA-Nicosia, as well as the South Florida HIDTA Group 44, Miami-Dade Police Department Narcotics Squad, Glades County Sheriff’s Office, and Hialeah Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant United States Attorney Jed Davis of the Eastern District of New York.

Police Arrest Rosenstein – Streaming 8/11/04

פרוטוקול בית משפט השלום – מעצרו של זאב רוזנשטיין 9/11/04

Hebrew Israeli Magistrate Court Protocol – Arrest 9/11/04

Tel Aviv Police head Cmdr. David Zur and DEA agents after Rosenstein arrest - 8/11/04