NEWS

Ozark car dealers guilty in meth distribution ring

Harrison Keegan
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Jeffrey Cain

Running a used car dealership can be a tough business; most fail within the first few years of opening.

Federal prosecutors argued at trial this week that when two struggling Ozark car dealers saw a way to improve their bottom line, they joined up with a nefarious character and took money they knew wasn’t clean.

Philip Delgrosso, 64, and Jeffrey Cain, 40, who operated Missouri Auto Group in Ozark, were found guilty Friday of several felony charges for their involvement in a multi-pound meth distribution ring that was bringing drugs in from Mexico to Arizona and selling the product in southwest Missouri.

The jury deliberated for close to four hours before returning its verdicts following a weeklong trial. A third defendant, Cesar Avila-Hernandez, 28, was also convicted on several counts after authorities busted him near Springfield with 10 pounds of meth hidden in the engine compartment of a Mercedes-Benz.

Federal prosecutor Tim Garrison said at trial this week that Missouri Auto Group, a small car lot off of Highway 65 in Ozark, became the epicenter of the drug operation in 2013 with late-night meth drop-offs at the garage and deceptive record-keeping in the office.

Missouri Auto Group was struggling to keep up with expenses in February 2013 when an Ozark man named Jerry Wright stopped in to shop for cars. Wright, fresh out of federal prison on a 10-year sentence for selling drugs, purchased two cheap cars off the lot.

Wright, who was already back in the drug game, came back to Delgrosso and Cain a few days later with a business proposition, and the struggling car dealers agreed to it, according to testimony.

The money laundering scheme was described by authorities during the trial. Here’s how they say it worked: Wright would pick out the cars he wanted and supply Cain and Delgrosso with cash. Cain and Delgrosso would use the cash to procure cashier’s checks and then use the checks to buy the cars at auction in the name of Missouri Auto Group.

The arrangement, investigators say, helped Wright solve a problem high-volume drug dealers commonly encounter — disguising ill-gotten profits as legitimate.

In exchange for cleaning Wright’s money, Cain and Delgrosso got to leave some of Wright’s high-end vehicles — like Camaros, Avalanches and a Jaguar — on their lot, instead of the cheap cars they usually kept, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Wright spent more than $150,000 in bundled cash through Missouri Auto Group between February and June of 2013. Prosecutors argued Cain and Delgrosso were either involved or “willfully blind” to Wright’s drug operation.

Delgrosso, a former police officer in New York and Florida, took the stand Friday morning and told the jury he had no idea Wright was selling drugs. Delgrosso said it was his understanding Wright was scrapping metal, working two jobs and had money saved up from work he did while in prison.

Delgrosso said Missouri Auto Group was fixing up the cars Wright bought and attempting to sell them on the lot for profit.

In a thick New York accent, Delgrosso called allegations that he was involved in a meth distribution conspiracy “the most insane statement I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Delgrosso’s attorney, Joshua Roberts, said Delgrosso was “duped” by Wright.

Wright and several other people involved in the drug ring have already pleaded guilty, but Roberts argued investigators “cast their net a little too far” in trying to implicate Delgrosso in the conspiracy.

Roberts argued Missouri Auto Group was just as innocent as other businesses where Wright spent money like Downstream Casino, Springfield Imports and Reliable Chevrolet.

A tearful Delgrosso told the jury Friday morning the federal investigation has ruined his life.

“My father always said no matter what happens, no one can take your good name away,” Delgrosso said. “And they have.”

Prosecutor Garrison countered in closing arguments by saying Delgrosso gave his good name away when he associated with Wright.

The evidence against Cain was more concrete, with testimony that he was present in situations where Wright was transporting meth.

Cain’s attorney argued, however, that prosecutors had not met the “burden of proof” to tie Cain to the drug conspiracy.

Roberts described Cain and Delgrosso as “good ol’ boys” trying to run an honest car dealership, but prosecutors brought up past criminal activity involving both defendants.

Delgrosso was found guilty in a Minnesota case 15 years ago in which he stole more than $40,000 from a business associate. Cain has prior felony drug convictions in Missouri.

The Jerry Wright drug investigation started with a traffic stop outside of Shooter’s Billiards bar on Glenstone Avenue in early 2013.

With intelligence from an undercover officer, police searched the car and found a 5-pound bag of meth.

The driver, Christopher Burton, told authorities he got the drugs from Jerry Wright, according to investigators.

Wright, who had recently been released from prison on a drug conviction, was now back on the DEA’s radar.

Investigators set up surveillance at Wright’s home in Ozark, and one thing that immediately caught the eye of drug task force officer Bryan Welch, he testified, was the collection of cars in Wright’s driveway and backyard.

Through the investigation, which included a wire tap and GPS trackers on vehicles, authorities say they learned that Cain and Delgrosso were helping Wright and his associates legitimize their drug money through the purchase of cars.

The arrangement lasted about seven weeks until authorities “took down” the investigation on June 5, 2013, stopping a 10-pound meth delivery to Wright, raiding Missouri Auto Group and serving search warrants at the homes of several of Wright’s associates.

The other defendant standing trial this week, Avila-Hernandez, 28, was allegedly driving the Mercedes when it was stopped with 10 pounds of meth.

Avila-Hernandez’s attorney argued that the California man was simply driving the car and didn’t know the drugs were inside. Prosecutors said, however, that Avila-Hernandez had flown out from California and picked up the Mercedes in Springfield with the express purpose of completing the drug deal.

Cain and Delgrosso were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute meth, conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

Avila-Hernandez was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute meth and possession of meth with intent to distribute.

Sentencing has not yet been determined in these cases. All three defendants were taken into custody after the jury read its verdict on Friday evening.

Attorneys for Cain and Delgrosso said they were surprised by the verdict. The attorney representing Avila-Hernandez declined to comment.

Wright, Cain and Avila-Hernandez did not testify at this week’s trial.