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Merlin man gets 10 years in drug case Lab cooked up to 200 pounds of meth By CHRIS BRISTOL A Merlin man was sentenced to 10 years in a federal penitentiary Wednesday for his role in a drug ring that authorities believe was responsible for the manufacture of more than 200 pounds of methamphetamine. Appearing in U.S. District Court in Medford, 38-year-old Elias Ortiz Jr. was the second of five co-defendants sent to prison so far. His brother, reputed ringleader Jose Ortiz, disappeared just before a federal grand jury indicted him last year and is still a fugitive. Though authorities never recovered anything close to the quantities of dope the ring reportedly made, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Thomson said an investigation found ample evidence of at least five "cooks" at a Grants Pass rental home that produced up to 40 pounds a batch. "This was definitely one of the largest meth labs I've worked on," he said. "We know they made that much." In fact, as part of a plea bargain, Elias Ortiz agreed to owe the government $250,000 as a tax penalty for undeclared profit. Thomson declined to discuss the case in detail, but court documents generally depict Jose Ortiz as the mastermind behind a drug ring that tried to shift its base of operations from Clearlake, Calif. -- just east of Ukiah -- to the Grants Pass area in 1996. Ortiz bought several properties and businesses in the area, including a home off Abegg Road near Merlin and a tire store in Grants Pass that prosecutors believe was an asset bought to launder money. The scheme began to unravel in October 1997, when, acting on a tip, police stopped the driver of a U-Haul truck near Clearlake. The truck contained some furniture but mainly chemicals used to make meth, a stimulant that can cause paranoia and violent psychosis. The driver, Clinton Meyer, told the police he was headed to Merlin, according to court documents. A narcotics task force soon raided several homes and properties in the area, including a rental off Stewart Road where most of the cooking was done. The investigation gained ground February 1998, when Meyer began cooperating with authorities while in custody. Within two months, a federal grand jury indicted seven men on multiple counts of drug trafficking and money laundering. Seized were the Ortiz home in Merlin and about $20,000. Prosecutors later dropped charges against one of the defendants. Meyer reached a deal with prosecutors and got seven years in prison. In court Wednesday, defense attorney Jay Frank described Elias Ortiz as a hard-working drywaller and father of five who had never been in trouble with the law before and whose role in the scheme was minor. Over a dozen members of the Ortiz family attended the hearing. "He was less culpable ... and should be treated as a minor defendant," Frank said. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken was not swayed, saying hard work and family values are an expectation of society, not a bonus, and that drugs like meth only tear up other families. "You knew better," she told Ortiz. Aiken also ordered Ortiz to pay $36,000 in restitution to cover the toxic cleanup cost of the Stewart Road lab. She gave him a week to report for prison. Another co-defendant, Isaac Jaimes, also appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to one of two drug trafficking charges. A sentencing date was scheduled for Oct. 14. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA