Downtown Springfield concert venue linked to $5 million marijuana conspiracy in Utah

Giacomo Bologna | Springfield News-Leader

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Business records and federal court documents link a downtown Springfield concert venue to a multi-state marijuana trafficking conspiracy that allegedly laundered millions of dollars through the live music industry.

Feds say a Utah-based couple built and sustained their music business with drug money before apparently coming to Springfield to help launch a new music venue just off Park Central Square.

In late 2017, The Regency closed.

In its place, The Complex opened.

At about the same time the sign above the door was changing in February, a grand jury was meeting in Utah.

MORE: Details emerge on the future of Regency, including name change

The indictment says Gabe and Angela Elstein and a business partner laundered more than $5 million in marijuana sales through their music promotion and concert businesses.

The allegations stretch back more than a decade.

The alleged crimes take place mostly in Utah — not Springfield.

The landlord of The Complex said the venue has nothing to do with the Elsteins.

But Gabe Elstein told the Springfield Business Journal in March that he and his wife owned The Complex, and state business records link Angela Elstein to The Complex in Springfield.

The Elstein's story starts in Salt Lake City.

In 2006, feds say Gabe Elstein and Scott D. Gordon decided to sell marijuana together.

Gordon was good at business, feds say, and Elstein was good at selling weed.

The marijuana came from California to Salt Lake City, then onto Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, feds say.

Initially, the operation dealt with shipments of pot weighing between 40 and 99 pounds, according to court records.

The money was in the tens of thousands of dollars, feds say, and Gordon started a music production company and exaggerated ticket sales at shows to launder the cash.

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Soon Gordon and Elstein were leasing a warehouse in Salt Lake City where they stored marijuana and cash in two safes, feds say, and later they built a workshop at a California ranch to package weed.

Possibly the biggest payment in the scheme came when a man connected to the conspiracy allegedly drove from Utah to a supplier in California with $2 million in cash in his car — half of which was vacuum-sealed in the shape of the Empire State Building.

At some point Angela Elstein became involved, feds say, by paying drivers, packaging marijuana and handling the books.

In 2009, Gordon and Gabe Elstein formed The Complex, LLC, in Utah and started construction on a concert venue in downtown Salt Lake City, according to federal court documents.

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Feds say the building cost at least $1.3 million to construct and the money came from the sale of marijuana.

A foreman was paid in weekly increments of $50,000 in cash, shrink-wrapped in plastic bags, feds say.

According to its website, The Complex in Salt Lake City is a 42,000-square foot building that houses four separate venues.

Hoobastank is scheduled to perform there later this week.

At times, the business struggled financially, feds say, and needed marijuana sales to keep it afloat.

In late 2013 to early 2014, Gordon turned over his interest in The Complex to the Elsteins, feds say.

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Marijuana sales also went to pay for homes, vehicles and more, feds say.

Gabe Elstein allegedly used drug money to buy his wife a $70,000 diamond, which feds are now trying to seize.

Feds say they also intend to seize two homes outside Park City, Utah, a resort town that hosts the Sundance Film Festival.

The Complex in Salt Lake City, too, is a target for forfeiture.

The News-Leader called The Complex in Salt Lake City, but a woman who answered the phone said she could not comment and hung up.

Court documents describe operations of the marijuana distribution conspiracy continuing through 2014.

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It's unclear if that's when the alleged conspiracy stopped.

Feds say they searched the Elsteins' Utah home in March and found evidence of marijuana sales.

They allegedly seized more than a pound of pot and financial documents in a trash can showing marijuana transactions of at least $44,000.

A grand jury returned a sealed indictment in February, followed by a superseding indictment in September. The indictments were unsealed later that month.

It's unclear why the scheme unraveled recently, not years ago.

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Feds say troopers in two different states arrested drivers distributing marijuana for the conspiracy — in Nebraska in 2007 and in Minnesota in 2013.

One supplier was arrested more than a decade ago, feds say, and a driver once had his home searched by law enforcement.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Utah, whose office is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

A Springfield police spokeswoman said the department is aware of the investigation and is unable to comment on it.

Attorneys for the Elsteins did not respond to requests for comments.

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Gary Thomas, the man who owns the property where The Complex is located, 307 Park Central East, spoke with the News-Leader Monday.

Thomas was the owner of longtime music venue The Regency. He said he closed his business and started renting the building to The Complex in 2018

That contradicts what he told the News-Leader in January. Thomas said then that he sold the Regency, but he now says he doesn't remember that interview.

“There was a lot going on in January,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he has met Gabe and Angela Elstein before, but all his business dealings have been with two men named Christopher Toth and Kevin Colopy and their business, The Complex Live, LLC.

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When the News-Leader pointed out that it was Angela Elstein's name on the registration documents for The Complex Live, Thomas said that was probably because the Missouri Secretary of State had not updated its documents.

"All my dealings are with Chris (Toth) and Kevin (Colopy)," Thomas said.

When asked if he could say with certainty that the Elsteins were not involved with the Complex in Springfield, Thomas said he didn't think so.

"Seems I would've heard of it," he said.

The Springfield Business Journal interviewed Gabe Elstein in January and reported that the Elsteins bought The Regency and its assets in September 2017.

“We’ve been coming there for years, and my wife and I kind of fell in love with the area,” Gabe Elstein told the Business Journal. “[We] met Gary Thomas, and he introduced us to his operation, and ultimately we made the decision to acquire Regency and bring more shows to the market.”

Thomas again reiterated that he did not sell the Regency, calling it his "baby." He also said Gabe Elstein was misspeaking.

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Thomas said it was Toth and Colopy who approached him with the idea for The Complex in Springfield — not the Elsteins.

“When they said 'we' they probably meant to say 'Kevin (Colopy) and Chris (Toth)'” Thomas said.

Toth is based in Springfield, Thomas said, while Colopy works remotely booking shows.

The News-Leader called Toth Monday and left a message.

When Toth called back, he said he was going into a meeting in five minutes and asked for any questions to be emailed to him.

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When the News-Leader asked Toth if he could instead talk for five minutes, Toth said he had to leave for the meeting right now.

Thomas, the landlord, praised the work of Toth and Colopy, saying they've brought good shows to Springfield.

Thomas said he doubts the allegations contained in the indictment against the Elsteins because the timeline doesn't make sense to him.

“Yes, there is something going on in Salt Lake City, but it has nothing to do with Springfield,” he said.

Thomas said he has met the Elsteins on fewer than six occasions, mostly around January when The Complex's lease went into place.

"They seem like fine people," he said.