Reputed cartel associate convicted of dealing meth from Dallas car dealership, feds say

A man authorities say is an associate of a Mexican drug cartel was convicted of dealing meth out of his car dealership in Dallas, federal prosecutors said.

After a four-day trial, Marco Antonio Gonzalez, 42, was convicted on Friday, Dec. 10 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the new release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas said.

Gonzalez faces up to life federal prison when sentenced.

According to a U.S. District Court complaint, Gonzalez sold meth out of the dealership, Hampton Motors, from around July 2016 to Aug. 22, 2017.

Gonzalez was also accused of distributing cocaine and marijuana and of selling the drugs while going by the nickname “Speedy,” the complaint said.

Gonzalez is an associate of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also known as CJNG, federal authorities said.

One witness told investigators that Gonzalez sold him meth nearly every day, and that he told them he was part of a large-scale group that produced up to 160 kilograms of meth at a time in a “super-lab,” the complaint said.

At one point,Dallas police officers responded to a domestic dispute elsewhere in Dallas, where they found someone in possession of half a kilogram of meth and other controlled substances. That person obtained the meth from Gonzalez, the complaint said.

Gonzalez and several others stored large quantities of drugs at the car dealership and used money from drug sales to buy cars, which they believed would disguise the fact that the money came from drug sales, the news release said.

In all, DEA agents seized 750 kilograms of meth valued at $5 million to $7 million, according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story from 2017.

Gonzalez and other defendants used homes in Dallas and DeSoto, a suburb south of Dallas, as labs to recrystallize meth and often carried guns on the premises, the release said. Agents said that members of the cartel moved thousands of kilograms of meth this way, the release said.

During the trial, prosecutors said they learned that Gonzalez threatened to kill a co-conspirator who threatened to testify against him, the release said. The co-conspirator still testified against Gonzalez the release said.

Ten co-conspirators pleaded guilty to charges before the trial.

This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Reputed cartel associate convicted of dealing meth from Dallas car dealership, feds say."