Solon man sentenced in huge heroin trafficking ring

CLEVELAND - The second to last of eight involved in a massive northeast Ohio drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Jimmie Goodgame will spend the next 70 months in prison for laundering more than $1.5 million for drug dealers through numerous bank accounts, and buying at least 50 luxury cars, law enforcement officials said.

Goodgame, 42, of Solon, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder $1.5 million in drug money.

All eight people indicted in 2011 for their roles in the heroin trafficking ring have been found guilty and all but one has been sentenced, according to court documents.

"This case shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that law enforcement in our region will work together to not only follow the drug flow, but also the money trail," said Steven Dettelbach, U.S.Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in a news release.

"We are committed to tracking and forfeiting the assets of those individuals who are involved in selling illegal drugs," explained Stephen Anthony with the FBI.

Authorities said the drug organization was led by Addonnise Wells and Mario Freeman. They used an apartment on Edgewater Drive in Lakewood as a "stash house" for the heroin before dealing it from homes on East 125th and East 127th streets in Cleveland, according to court documents.

Court records also show Freeman and others then laundered their drug profits through Jimmie Goodgame and his wife, Stacey, mainly through buying expensive cars, BMWs, Mercedes-Benzs, Maseratis and others, titled to companies owned by the Goodgames. The vehicles were then driven by drug dealers from March 2007 through February 2011.

Already sentenced for their involvement in the drug trafficking ring:

• James Jones, 29, of Cleveland: 50 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin.
• John Toone, 61, of Columbus: three years supervised release for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana.
• Stacy Goodgame, 41, of Reminderville: 18 months in prison for conspiracy to launder money derived from drug proceeds.
• Mario Freeman, 28, of Garfield Heights: 87 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin.
• Aaron Phillips, 29, of Hartville: three years supervised release (including eight months home confinement) for conspiracy to launder money derived from drug proceeds.
• Addonnise Wells, 29, of Cleveland: 70 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin.
• Dimitris Terry, 40, of Westmont, Illinois, will be sentenced on March 8 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to launder money derived from drug proceeds.

The bust was part of the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives. The HIDTA Program supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate, or reduce, drug-trafficking in Ohio.