Smuggling investigation focuses on Cordova man
Categories:
· Crime
International:
· USA
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Source:http://www.commercialappeal.com/,2009-08-14
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A Cordova man involved in a Millington plane crash late last year is in the middle of a federal investigation involving distribution of contraband cigarettes.
The investigation, according to published reports, involves sending cartons of cigarettes across the Southeast in a scheme to avoid paying federal taxes. Authorities have raided locations in Tupelo, South Carolina and Kentucky in connection with the two-year investigation.
Randy L. Benham, 42, who lives in Cordova near Woodland Hills, has been associated with the Tupelo-based Globe Distributing, which has also done business as Globe Wholesale Inc., since 2006. In some places, Benham is listed as owner of the company. Globe's offices in Tupelo have been a central part of the investigation.
An Associated Press article last month cited court documents as saying Benham "created false invoices and false reports" to make it appear the cigarettes were sold in Mississippi. Instead, the cigarettes were being diverted to other states with higher federal tobacco taxes.
Steve Farese, Benham's attorney, declined comment Thursday on the case or Benham's connection to it. He also said his client would have nothing to say about the investigation.
There apparently haven't been any charges filed against Benham, but the Cordova resident and Globe Distributing appear directly connected to the investigation.
In a June 5, 2009, news release, the Mississippi state auditor's office outlined the search warrants executed in connection with the investigation. Authorities searched Globe Distributing on May 26, in addition to two cigarette manufacturers in Kentucky and a tobacco distributor in Anderson, S.C.
The investigation also led to a warehouse in an undisclosed Mississippi location where "millions of dollars worth of cigarettes" were found, according to the release.
As part of the case, federal authorities are trying to seize a 1982 Beech King Air C-90 plane they say was used to deliver the cigarettes illegally across the region without paying federal taxes.
The plane is registered to Globe Wholesale Inc., according to the Federal Aviation Administration Web site.
That is not the same plane Benham was flying when he crashed at Millington Municipal Jetport on Dec. 9, 2008. He was in a Mitsubishi MU-2 that rainy morning. That plane is registered to Briggs Tobacco and Specialty Co. Inc., for which Benham is the registered agent, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State Web site.
Benham, who was flying into Millington for fuel, began having engine trouble, forcing him to crash on the suburban jetport's runway.
An agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they are seeing an increase in cigarette trafficking and it is spreading outside the United States' borders.
"This task force was formed specifically to prevent criminal networks from profiting and flourishing from tax evasion through the interstate transportation and sales of contraband cigarettes," said David G. Harper, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's New Orleans Field Division, in the June news release. "With such enormous potential for profit, at the expense of the public, such schemes are becoming bigger and more complex than ever. |
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