Federal and local authorities say they have busted a large-scale marijuana distribution ring, charging two Waldorf men with distributing more than 45 pounds of marijuana across the Washington region.
According to documents filed at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, officers searching the home the men shared in Waldorf on Nov. 5 discovered $100,000 in cash stored in a small safe, a backpack and a shoebox.
Hidden in various locations, including the attic and closets, officials found two fully automatic assault rifles, seven handguns, a shotgun and a magazine containing hollow-point bullets.
The investigation started on Sept. 24, when two Montgomery County detectives met with an informant who had a quarter-pound of “high-grade marijuana” with him, a sworn statement by Detective Mark Janney said.
The informant reportedly told the officers that since 2004 he had been buying between one and three pounds of marijuana per week from William Cornman, 34. The informant added that Cornman often arranged for his cousin, Joseph Tak, 22, to deliver the drugs.
On Oct. 13, law enforcement officials, executing a search warrant, found 13 pounds of marijuana and $58,000 in cash in a College Park home, the statement said. The resident pointed to Cornman as his distributor. He told investigators that he’d been buying 10-pound quantities of marijuana from Cornman once or twice a month for the past six years. Tak, the informant said, often delivered the product.
The College Park dealer is known by authorities to have sold marijuana in Tysons Corner, the statement said.
On Nov. 3, law enforcement officials had the Montgomery County informant purchase three pounds of “high-quality marijuana” from Cornman. The informant got the drugs from Tak the next day.
On Nov. 5, as law enforcement officials searched the Waldorf home, Cornman was caught delivering 30 pounds of high-grade marijuana to the College Park dealer, the statement said. Officials also found between $5,000 and $10,000 in cash in Cornman’s car.
Calls to Cornman’s and Tak’s attorney, John Tran, were not immediately returned Wednesday.
