Yassine accomplice skips out on bond
Karim Faiq
One of the 10 men arrested in a reported downtown drug ring has skipped out on bond and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Karim Faiq failed to appear in federal court Wednesday. He is charged with cocaine distribution in the Yassine Enterprises scheme. A multi-agency investigation revealed that several nightclubs owned by Yassine Enterprises were used as a front for a drug trafficking and money laundering ring.
The trial date has been pushed back for those implicated in the Yassine scheme from June to October.
Defense attorneys successfully argued the federal government has not yet turned over all the evidence in the case.
Judge Sam Sparks pushed back the start of the trial by three months. It will now get underway Oct. 1.
That evidence includes five dozen CDs with recorded conversations involving the defendants. The defense says many of those are in French or Arabic and must be translated.
Also, brothers Mike and Steve Yassine again pushed for bail Wednesday, but Judge Sparks denied that request and the two brothers will remain behind bars.