The owner of a real estate group is among 18 people arrested this week and charged in federal court in a sprawling drug conspiracy case, according to federal records.
Sam Stair, owner of S2 Real Estate Group, was arrested by federal agents early on April 22 and appeared in federal court the same day.
He is charged with conspiracy, drug counts, maintaining a drug house and money laundering, according to a 176-page criminal complaint. He is the lead defendant in the case.
Other defendants include Jeanette Lopez, Russell V. McDade Sr. (a/k/a “Ro”), Laura F. Knezic, Stacey L. Berry, Javarius J. Williams (a/k/a “G”), Otis Lockett III, Martin L. Sinclair, Ser Jimmy (Ser Jimmie) L. Shepherd, Larry A. Shepherd (Jr.), Shaeerah J. McKay, Victoria T. Allen, Walter J. Ringersma (a/k/a “Wally”), Cristal F. Nokes, Abraham M. Lopez, Kerry Howell Sr., Alberto L. Boffil Jr., and Wesley R. Bynum.
According to the criminal complaint, Stair’s business model allegedly included renting properties directly to drug dealers either to be used as “stash houses” to store drugs or as “trap houses,” to distribute drugs to buyers.
Prior to his arrest, Stair told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an interview that he primarily rents to low-income tenants or those with previous evictions.
Renting to drug traffickers and relying on them to manage other rental units allegedly ensured a more secure stream of income than he could obtain through “legitimate rental arrangements,” according to the criminal complaint.
“This further guarantees rental income as it allows for traffickers to withhold controlled substances to which the renters are addicted if they do not pay rent,” the complaint read.
Among those also charged is Stair’s office manager, Jeanette Lopez, was also allegedly involved “in renting properties to drug traffickers so that the traffickers can use the properties as stash houses,” according to the complaint.
Lopez allegedly arranged paperwork and utilities on the properties rented to drug traffickers to ensure their names were not associated with the rentals. Lopez would also charge a percentage of the profits from drug trafficking in addition to monthly rents, according to the complaint.
Stair’s arrest leaves his tenants at over 150 properties across Milwaukee in limbo.
The case lead is the Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, according to the complaint. Other state and federal law enforcement agencies participated in the investigation.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee south side landlord arrested for alleged drug trafficking
Reporting by Alyssa N. Salcedo and John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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