Alleged drug ring leader charged

GREEN BAY - Four more people were charged Thursday afternoon in federal court in connection with major drug raid operations throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Including the man, investigators are saying ran the entire growing operation. He is Bernabe J. Nunez-Guzman.

Bernabe Nunez-Guzman was charged with conspiring to distribute and manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants over the last three months.

The complaint against the so-called "boss" says police believe he played a leading role in the marijuana operation, in which arrests have been made during the last few days.

Wednesday evening police and drug task force agents entered the Green Bay home where Bernabe Nunez-Guzman lives.

The following day, Nunez-Guzman was in federal court, facing one charge, of major involvement in a marijuana operation.

Nunez-Guzman owns a home in on Highway 54 near Seymour. On Tuesday agents arrested four men while a FOX 11 crew was nearby. A total of nine people were arrested in the area that day.

Court documents show there was marijuana in nearly every room of the home.

When FOX 11 spoke with Nunez-Guzman on Wednesday, he said he didn't know much about the arrests that had been made at his property, and didn't know where the people living there were from.

The criminal complaint against him tells a different story. It says one confidential informant, who was arrested at a Seymour home, says several months ago someone arranged for him to travel from California to Green Bay. Once in Green Bay, the informant says he was met at the airport by Nunez-Guzman, who was known as "Green Bay."

The informant told police Nunez-Guzman took him to a home in Seymour where worked on a marijuana operation.

The informant said Nunez-Guzman was the "boss" of the grow operation, and another worker told him Nunez-Guzman arranged for workers to come to the area.

Another confidential informant was arrested in Seymour, and told police a man known as "Green Bay" came to the Seymour residence about once every 15 days to check on the marijuana operation. The second informant also told police "Green Bay" recently moved firearms that were first kept in marijuana fields to a Seymour residence.

The complaint against Nunez-Guzman says " 'Green Bay' said that the firearms would be better served protecting the Seymour residence now that marijuana was being dried at that location."

Nunez-Guzman is not only the owner of a Seymour home, he runs various businesses, including a Green Bay restaurant.

The complaint also alleges Nunez-Guzman provided workers with cell phones so he could be in close contact with them. Authorities have not commented specifically on Nunez-Guzman's case.

FOX 11 talked with a few people who know Nunez-Guzman. They didn't want to talk on camera, but all were surprised. One said Nunez-Guzman "seems like a model citizen" and is hoping the accusations in the criminal complaint are not true.

The three others that appeared in federal court Thursday were charged with two counts of manufacturing and intent to distribute marijuana, totaling thousands of plants. They are listed as:

• Uriel Perez-Aljandres
• Jose Luis Sandoval-Mendoza
• Armando Adame-Alvarado

The charges the men face could mean up to life in prison and millions of dollars in fines.