DETROIT (AP) -- Nearly five years after filing charges against 19 people, federal prosecutors in Detroit got another conviction in a multimillion-dollar scheme to sell illegal cigarettes, counterfeit Viagra and other goods.
Authorities say the enterprise had international intrigue. They claim all had allegiance to Hezbollah, and some money was given to the militant Lebanese group.
Fadi Hammoud of Dearborn pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering. His conviction is the eighth in the case. Nine of the 19 people have fled the country.
The government says the cigarette trafficking lasted from 1996 to 2002. Cigarettes worth up to $500,000 were acquired each week in states with low or no tobacco taxes and then distributed in Michigan and New York.