Man Appealing Drug Verdict Is Convicted in New Case

An Orange County man was convicted Wednesday of conspiracy to possess cocaine for distribution after he was arrested by undercover federal agents while free on bail pending appeal of a 25-year prison sentence he had received in another drug case.

Mark Steven McFarlane, 30, of San Clemente did not say a word when the seven-man, five-woman Los Angeles federal court jury returned the verdict against him after nearly four days of deliberations. Panel members acquitted him of two other drug counts.

McFarlane was arrested April 2 as the alleged “behind-the-scenes” man in a scheme to purchase two kilograms of cocaine for $62,000 from undercover agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The convicted buyer of the cocaine in the case, Ali Reza Naimi Mohases, 34, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

At the time of his arrest, McFarlane was free on bail pending appeal of a 25-year prison sentence that he received for his role in the Mobley cocaine ring, dismantled last year after a massive investigation by the FBI and the DEA. The ring was described by federal authorities as the largest drug network ever prosecuted on the West Coast.

McFarlane appealed on the grounds that illegal wiretaps were used in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Laurie L. Levenson, who prosecuted McFarlane in the new drug case, said the investigation originally centered on Mohases, but federal agents became interested when Mohases was seen at McFarlane’s home.

McFarlane was taken into custody at the El Toro home where Mohases was arrested after purchasing the drugs, she said.

Although there was no direct evidence linking McFarlane to the scheme, Levenson nevertheless argued that the defendant’s presence at the time of Mohases’ arrest was more than just coincidental. Telephone records also showed that Mohases made several calls to McFarlane’s home during the time that negotiations to purchase the cocaine were under way, the prosecutor said.

Roger Diamond, McFarlane’s attorney, argued that his client was staying away from any illegal activity because of the 25-year sentence he faced.

The defense attorney said he would appeal Wednesday’s verdict, contending that U.S. District Judge James M. Ideman, who presided, admitted evidence from the earlier Mobley court matter that unjustly stacked the case against his client.

“It was an uphill, difficult battle because . . . the evidence admitted was extremely prejudicial,” Diamond said.

In addition to the 25-year sentence now under appeal, McFarlane faces a maximum prison term of up to 20 years for the conspiracy conviction and another 10 years for committing a crime while being free on bail. Sentencing is set for Sept. 9.

McFarlane is being held without bail.