Eight People with Tobacco Wholesale Company Face Federal Indictments w/ U.S. Attorney's Release And

Source from:  By Roger McKinney rmckinney@joplinglobe.com GALENA, Kan. 10/20/2008

Gary Hall and seven others associated with his wholesale tobacco business are facing a 43-count federal indictment alleging they defrauded $25 million in tax revenue out of the state of Oklahoma and American Indian tribes. Charges against the defendants include multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering "Mercy, it goes on and on," Michael Schmitz, spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said of the indictment. Agents with the ATF, Kansas Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service moved in about 8 a.m. at Sunflower Supply Co. to arrest Hall and the other defendants, Schmitz said. The Internal Revenue Service also is part of the investigation, he said. The defendants were being transported to Wichita for an initial appearance before a judge, Schmitz said. Though the initial appearances were scheduled for Monday, attorneys for Hall and some of the other defendants had filed a motion for immediate bond hearings on Friday. The results of those motions were not immediately available Friday. "These federal charges filed in the district of Kansas involve the complex structure of cigarette taxes in the state of Oklahoma," Hall's attorney, Dan Monatt, said by phone Friday. "Gary Hall is a well-respected businessman and philanthropist from Southeast Kansas. He vigorously asserts his innocence of these accusations and welcomes a jury trial that will make that clear." Monatt said he was limited to what he could say based on the rules regarding pretrial publicity in federal cases. A news release from acting U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker about the indictment states that Hall, 66, of Joplin, Mo., is the president and owner of Sunflower, and also exercised control over Discount Tobacco Warehouse, 402 Grand Ave., Joplin; National Tobacco Distributors; Rebel Industries Inc.; Halls Collection Inc.; Shawnee Tobacco Smoke Shop in Harrah, Okla.; and Sunflower Aircraft Inc. Other defendants are: n Thomas Anthony Grantham, 50, of Joplin, who works for Hall managing operations at Sunflower and Rebel. n Keith Dion Noe, 42, of Joplin, the accountant for Sunflower, Discount Tobacco Warehouse, Rebel Industries and Shawnee Tobacco. n Justine Boyes, 32, of Galena, who worked for Hall at Sunflower and now works for him at Discount Tobacco Warehouse. n Danny Ray Davis, 62, of Galena, who worked for Hall at Sunflower and now works for him at Rebel Industries. Enditem