RAPAPORT... U.S. District Judge William Quarles, Jr. sentenced jeweler Eugene Petasky of Baltimore, Maryland to 41 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to launder drug proceeds. Petasky, 58,  owned and operated Metro Brokers Jewelers Ltd., located at 1852 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, Maryland, and from at least 1982 until November 27, 2006, he "knowingly accepted at least $336,000 in cash from drug traffickers in exchange for jewelry," according to the court statement.

Drug dealers repeatedly brought drug proceeds to him to disguise the true nature and source of those funds and Petasky agreed to accept those funds and assist the drug dealers, the court determined. Petasky also intentionally concealed the nature of those transactions by failing to file required tax forms with the IRS and structuring certain transactions to appear legitimate.

At two different times during the investigation, Petasky accepted cash payments of $12,500 and $23,500 from undercover IRS agents in exchange for jewelry. Both transactions were over the $10,000 limit, requiring him to file IRS/FinCEN Form 8300, which he failed to do. 

LH