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How a Bay Area crime boss tried to hoodwink FBI agents for a ’69 Chevy Camaro

1969 Chevrolet Camaro | National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images

A Bay Area crime boss who entered guilty pleas to interstate marijuana smuggling, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice Tuesday now faces up to 52 years in prison and millions in fines. 

Quinten Giovanni Moody, aka Christano Rossi, 38, of Dublin, made hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting marijuana from California to Georgia, Nevada, Texas and other locations, according to federal prosecutors. Moody used a web of courier services to move cash and weed. 

The FBI said he was one of two leaders of a criminal organization it has dubbed the “Moody-Minks Organization.” The charges against his co-defendant, Myra Boleche Minks, 44, formerly of Roseville, are pending.

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Moody also committed unemployment insurance fraud during the pandemic and used a Bank of America debit card in the name of an identity theft victim to make purchases at a Cartier store and Louis Vuitton store in Las Vegas, in September 2020, the FBI said. 

Investigators later seized a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and a 1956 Chevrolet pickup that Moody purchased with the proceeds of his criminal activities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

The Plot

Stock image: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro | National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images

The marijuana smuggler with a penchant for vintage muscle cars and high-end shopping didn’t accept defeat after the seizure of his vehicles. Instead, officials say he doubled down on his brazenness, opting to fake court documents from a Georgia judge and enlist a tow company to use them to retrieve his vehicles from an Atlanta FBI lock-up on May 8, 2022. Unfortunately for Moody, the documents were revealed as fakes and his plot failed. 

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But just weeks later, on May 21, a truck from a different towing company arrived at the FBI’s Atlanta field office, officials said. In another attempt to retake the seized vehicles, the driver presented a new fake federal court order demanding their release. Shortly before the tow truck’s arrival, a co-conspirator called the FBI’s Atlanta field office personnel pretending to be a special agent. Posing as an agent, this co-conspirator attempted to contact employees assigned to the gate outside of the lock-up to let the tow truck in, agents said. Once again, the plot failed, and the FBI did not release the vehicles.

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Moody’s sentencing is set for July 11, 2023, and he faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for marijuana distribution. He faces another 12 years and $500,000 in fines for aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice. 

This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI and a number of other agencies including the San Francisco Police Department, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol.

Joe Burn can be reached at jburn@sfstandard.com

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