Couple behind home for aged is indicted on meth charges
A wife and husband who owned and operated an elder care facility in Vallejo were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for distributing and manufacturing methamphetamine pills that featured the Tesla logo, KoolAid’s smiling pitcher and President Trump’s name and likeness, authorities said.
Roselle Cipriano, 36, and Henry Benson, 37, face charges that include conspiracy to distribute and manufacture methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm to commit a drugtrafficking crime, according to the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Cipriano
and Benson face 10 years to life in prison and a $1 million fine.
The married couple were taken into custody Feb. 7 at their business, Genesis Care Home for the Elderly, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Authorities found a pill press, 31 pounds of methamphetamine pills, 17 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, various other powders and manufacturing equipment, and a shotgun within 3 feet of the pills at the elder care facility, prosecutors said.
A search of the couple’s storage facility allegedly turned up five additional pill presses, hazardous material clothing, and additional powder suspected of containing narcotics.
The DEA’s Sacramento office began investigating the couple in 2017 after learning of a suspected counterfeit tablet operation, authorities said. An undercover investigation resulted in purchases of thousands of tablets that varied in color and logo.
Some of the yellow tablets had the Tesla emblem, others bore the smiling pitcher of the Kool-Aid Man and additional tablets were embossed with the likeness of Trump, whose last name was stamped on the back, authorities said. Some tablets were in the shape of blue minions.
Laboratory tests determined the pills had traces of methamphetamine, and agents identified Cipriano and Benson as the source of the pills.
The care facility, whose ownership is under Cipriano’s name, remains open and residents are being taken care of by medical staff, authorities said.