The owner of a Maryland jewelry store has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he conspired to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking activity. Eugene Petasky, 58, of Baltimore, owned and operated Metro Brokers Jewelers Ltd. According to Petasky's plea agreement, between 1982 and 2006, he knowingly accepted at least $336,000 in cash from drug traffickers in exchange for jewelry. He also concealed the nature of the illicit transactions, and the money involved, by failing to file Forms 8300 with the Internal Revenue Service.
In May 2006, IRS agents launched a sting operation targeting Metro Brokers. Petasky accepted $12,500 in cash from an undercover IRS agent in exchange for jewelry, and three months later accepted another $23,500 in cash from the same agent in exchange for more jewelry. Petasky was convinced that the agent was a drug dealer from Tennessee, and it was obvious therefore that he believed the money being used to buy jewelry
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