Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury yesterday found Ralph Georg Toni Martin, a/k/a Mirko Dominic Martin, (46, Würzburg, Germany) guilty of failure to appear for his sentencing in a federal drug case, after being released on bail by order of the Court. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, consecutive to a federal prison sentence of over 8 years that Martin has already been ordered to serve by the Court in his underlying drug case. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 22, 2016.
Martin was indicted on Dec. 16, 2015.
According to evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 31, 1998, Martin was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration for his role in an international MDMA (Ecstasy) ring that imported MDMA into the United States from Europe, and distributed the drugs in the Orlando area. After Martin’s arrest, the Court ordered his release on bail, with the standard release condition that he appear at any and all future proceedings in his case. On Oct. 15, 1998, at a hearing before the Court, Martin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute MDMA, importation of MDMA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was then advised of a sentencing date of Jan. 20, 1999. Martin did not appear for his sentencing and was a fugitive from justice for over 16 years. During this period, he was able to avoid apprehension by law enforcement, living in California and New Jersey.
On Sept. 18, 2015, Martin was arrested by local law enforcement in Bayonne, New Jersey. Martin has already been sentenced to 97 months for the charges to which he pled guilty in 1998.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Bayonne, New Jersey Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew C. Searle and Sean Shecter.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
