By Robert Patrick
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A routine traffic stop in St. Charles County two weeks ago has set federal agents on the trail of some kind of international intrigue they do not yet fully understand.
It started Aug. 6 on Interstate 70, when St. Charles County sheriff’s deputies stopped a black BMW suspected of speeding. The driver, Constatin Puiu, offered a Utah drivers license and told deputies he was returning home from Florida.
Their suspicions were aroused by multiple cell phones on the front passenger seat, a bundle of cash in the glove compartment and Puiu’s nervousness, according to court documents.
A positive reaction from a drug-sniffing dog called “Bach” led to a search of the car and the discovery of more cash in the 28-year-old man’s backpack, eight pre-paid cell phones and multiple identifications in different names. In all, deputies found $53,200 in the car, but no drugs.
The search also discovered 76 Western Union receipts, representing cash sent from Missouri and six other states to Romania and Spain.
Deputies quickly realized that, “This isn’t the run-of-the-mill marijuana salesman,” said sheriff’s Lt. Craig McGuire. He said that’s when they called in Deputy Scott Stricker, who is assigned to work with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
What investigators subsequently learned, officials said, has created more questions than answers.
Puiu, originally from the Republic of Moldova, in Eastern Europe, told federal agents he had been offered $10,000 and a U.S. visa after inquiring about obtaining a visitor’s “green card” from a website. Puiu described the organization he worked for as “very sophisticated” and one that “knew how to avoid law enforcement in many ways.” Puiu said he was told to buy a prepaid cell phone every two days. He received text messages telling him what names to use each day, and where to pick up cash, mainly from trash cans, to be forwarded overseas.
Often, Puiu was directed to hotel trash containers, Stricker wrote in an affidavit filed in court. Sometimes there would be a new ID with Puiu’s picture hidden in the cash.
Officials said Puiu wired the money in batches of less than $3,000 to avoid detection by authorities.
Puiu would not tell agents about the original source of the money.
He was charged Aug. 7 in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with structuring monetary instruments to evade reporting requirements.
Puiu was in custody and waived a detention hearing.
Several court hearings in the intervening weeks have failed to shed any more light on his employers.
“We’re pursuing a number of substantial leads in this case,” said Jim Shroba, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA here. “This thing has tentacles all over the world.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis, who is prosecuting Puiu, said, “It’s an interesting and intriguing case that we’re getting to the bottom of in the ... Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force unit, that involves multiple state and federal agencies.”
Puiu’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, declined to comment.
Copyright 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch