Pete Stidman

JAMAICA PLAIN GAZETTE

SOUTH ST.—Just after 3 p.m. on Aug. 30, agents from the FBI, the IRS and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) swarmed into Boston Envio De Valores, a money transfer service at 146A South St., and arrested its owners for money laundering, cocaine distributing and theft of government property.

Under the same sun, over 1,600 miles away in Bani, Dominican Republic (DR), ICE agents and the DR National Police raided Peravinter, an unlicensed money remittal business with alleged business and familial ties to Boston Envio. That search warrant and several others in Bani and Santo Domingo netted seven suspects.

The coordinated busts, the Gazette has learned, were a result of a two-year sting operation involving cooperating witnesses who brought money to Boston Envio, represented it as drug proceeds, and then had it wired it to the DR, said an ICE news release.

The two men arrested in the JP raid were Santo Melo, a.k.a. “Puly,” 48, and Claudio Tejeda Andujar, 34. Prosecutors are recommending the two be held until trial. Tejeda Andujar is allegedly related to some of the individuals arrested in the DR.

A third man, a former employee, Jose Garcia, 48, was arrested elsewhere in Massachusetts and released on $25,000 bail.

“They came in with 40 people and did what they wanted with us,” said Santo Ramirez about the raid. Ramirez, a photographer and uncle to Tejada Andujar, shares space with Boston Envio and witnessed the arrests.

After securing the front desk and Ramirez’s photo studio, agents descended the back stairs and followed hallways laden with plastic santos, votive candles and special potions to find Maria Teresa Espiritu Santo Reyes of Maria’s Botanica in the middle of a private consultation. The botanica moved there after arson hit their main location a few doors down in March.

“I heard a voice, but I didn’t know who it was,” said Reyes. “Then this undercover police girl said, ‘Put your hands up.’ I said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’”

Ramirez and Reyes both said they hadn’t seen or noticed anything unusual about Boston Envio or its owners. “Everything was OK except on this day,” said Ramirez.

Agents also confiscated US currency, money counters, large amounts of wire transfer receipts and other paperwork, computers and a hard drive used to record surveillance of the business.

In addition to money laundering, Melo faces charges of theft of government property. The witness allegedly gave Melo $60,000 to wire to the Dominican Republic and a $4,200 remittal fee, but the money allegedly never arrived.

The indictment that led to the bust also said that Tejeda Andujar and a fourth individual still being sought by the authorities were allegedly involved with the distribution of at least 500 grams of cocaine.

Garcia was charged with handling ten transactions over $10,000 in cash without filing the required currency transaction report.

Asked if he suspected any illegal activity, landlord Jonathan McConathy said no. “In fact, I checked with some people who have insight into that stuff—police officers. They told me everything was fine with that business. But I think it must have been under investigation already.”

McConathy, who bought the building last August, said he had no immediate plans to evict either of his other tenants, Maria’s Botanica or Annibal Color.

“My mind, my heart, my hand, everything is clean,” said Reyes, adding that she was again looking for a new location because she doesn’t feel comfortable any more and the rent is too high for her without Boston Envio paying its part.

“It’s kind of alarming, what’s transpired over the past year in JP,” said McConathy. “With the fires, the police corruption and this going down. I’ve lived in JP eight years and I’ve never witnessed anything like this.”

Coincidentally, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, whose assistant will be prosecuting this case, was recently named to lead the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is assisting local law enforcement in investigating a string of at least three arsons in JP.