Drug ring leader faces sentencing - Fresno man will spend at least 10 years in jail in federal case

The ring leader in a multistate drug case that netted about four dozen people agreed Monday to spend at least 10 years in federal prison.

Federal prosecutors want Oscar Rosales, 40, of Fresno, to face 15 years and eight months in prison.

Investigators say he headed the Rosales drug trafficking organization. Rosales pleaded guilty to being the primary distributor of 2,200 pounds of marijuana in a case that resulted in four federal indictments and about 50 arrests.

Of those 50 people, 43 were charged in federal court, with 25 of those pleading guilty, prosecutors said Monday. The rest are charged in local courts.

Rosales, owner of Exclusive Sounds, a stereo business at 4376 W. Shaw Ave., used several different couriers to distribute millions of dollars worth of marijuana in California, Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota and Tennessee.

Former employees of Exclusive Sounds already have entered guilty pleas.

Rosales admitted obtaining marijuana from locations in the U.S. and Mexico.

Information obtained by drug agents through surveillance and wiretaps of one of Rosales' cell phones confirmed the extensive nature of the Rosales drug trafficking organization and indicated that Rosales received, stored and distributed marijuana from his stereo business.

Narcotics agents also witnessed several marijuana transactions directed by Rosales in early 2005, which involved several co-conspirators. Agents seized about 247 pounds of marijuana that Rosales distributed locally and to Georgia and Minnesota, according to federal court records.

The indictments extended to others in North Fork, Turlock and Mendocino County, federal investigators say.

In all, drug agents found 559 plants weighing 4,500 pounds, 11 pounds of packaged marijuana, a half-pound of hashish, a quarter-pound of cocaine, 40 grams of psychedelic mushrooms, four handguns and $31,700 in cash.

Karen Escobar, assistant U.S. attorney, said the sentence accurately reflects that Rosales "was the leader of a large marijuana distribution network."

She said Judge Oliver Wanger could sentence Rosales to life in prison.

But Salvatore Sciandra, Rosales' lawyer, said he intends to show that his client was a respected businessman who often gave to many community organizations and causes for children. He hopes this will convince the judge to limit the sentence to no more than 10 years.

"We get to put on all the good things about him so the judge gets a complete picture of the situation," Sciandra said Monday.

The case involving Rosales also ensnared a former Georgia Tech football player, Reuben Houston. He received a nine-month jail sentence.

Rosales also faces up to $4 million in fines. Sentencing for Rosales is set for Dec. 11 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.