The Yogurt Connection

The Yogurt Connection was a drug smuggling ring which operated out of Indianapolis, Indiana in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Prosecutors estimated that the gang ran an estimated 250,000 pounds of Colombian, Jamaican and Thai marijuana. Distribution reached into 11 Midwestern states and was valued at $50 million to $100 million, then the largest known ring of its kind.

History

From their hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana during 1975, Linda Leary (born, April 15, 1931) and her two sons, Richard Heilbrunn (born, June 20, 1951) and Paul Heilbrunn (born, January 15, 1954), organized a drug smuggling ring called “The Yogurt Connection” -- an allusion to the family's YoGo franchise.

Officially they were selling Dr. Bronner's Natural Castille Soap through a health-food distribution business called Heilbrunn and Friends. Initially the "friends" were North Central High School grads who set up marijuana sales networks at various colleges and eventually the wider market.

Despite their illegal activities, Linda and her sons maintained high profiles and excellent reputations in the community. Paul was a broker and financier. Linda was head of the Indianapolis League of Women Voters, president of the local chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women and a volunteer fund-raiser for the city's new zoo. They made highly visible loans to unknowing recipients, including a local radio station, a Cablevision franchise, and the Indianapolis Dining Guide. If you asked Indianapolis residents, none could have imagined that the same people who played tennis at the club and supported the government initiatives of then-mayor Richard Lugar, could also smuggle illegal drugs.

According to the federal government’s indictment of the family, Paul organized the gang and saw to its growth. More businessman than drug dealer, Paul wore three-piece suits, drove a late-model BMW, frequented the most expensive restaurants and paid in hundred-dollar bills. Paul had a reputation for being ruthless, which was evident in September 1975. According to federal prosecutors, Paul was supposed to talk to John Brady Jenkins, an employee and an old friend from North Central High, about a large debt Jenkins owed the organization. Paul suspected trouble with Jenkins and rather than meeting with John himself Paul asked his brother Richard to take his place. Paul was correct, at the meeting, Jenkins pulled a pistol, killed the man who had accompanied Richard and put four bullets into Richard, leaving him for dead. Richard survived the wounds received from his high school friend John, though he walked with a pronounced limp.

Jenkins escaped to and was eventually captured in a small Canadian town, and eventually hung himself in a British Columbia jail. According to hearsay, he committed suicide to put an end to threats made on a younger brother, intended to prevent Jenkins from turning government informant.

In 1983, federal agents say they picked up a cocaine distributor who had been fired by Paul. In exchange for a grant of immunity, the man agreed to tell the authorities as much as he knew about the Heilbrunn operation. In the second half of 1985 Linda and her sons fled to Austria after learning a federal grand jury was looking into allegations the Heilbrunns were directing a multi-state smuggling operation. In November 1987, after four years spent gathering evidence, the authorities moved in on the Yogurt Connection with indictments against Leary, her sons and more than 30 other people. Leary and her sons were arrested in May 1989 in Austria.

U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney sentenced Leary to nine years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. He sentenced her to a concurrent five-year term for racketeering. Convictions of Richard and Paul followed.

The family members have since been released from Federal Prisons:

• PAUL BRUCE HEILBRUNN, DOC NUMBER 03367-028, RELEASED 04-15-2003
• RICHARD S HEILBRUNN, DOC NUMBER 03368-028, RELEASED 09-23-1994
• LINDA LEARY, DOC NUMBER 03366-028, RELEASED 06-16-1992

See Also

• Cocaine
• Drug abuse
• Drug addiction
• George Jung
• Illegal drug trade
• International Drug Control
• List of notable drug culture figures
• Marijuana
• Recreational drug use
• Smuggling
• Wonderland Gang

Sources

• United States Bureau Of Prisons, Inmate Finder

• The New York Times (August 4 1990), Ex-Civic Leader Is Jailed in Drug Smuggling, Section 1; Page 24, Column 1; National Desk

• Harris, Beth (December 20 1989), Prosecutors Seek to Keep Family Jailed on Pot Smuggling Charges, The Associated Press

• Kusmer, Ken (July 19, 1989), AP Writer, Feds Await Return of Prominent Family to Face Drug Charges

• 136-Page Indictment, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, (317) 229-3700

• 20-Photographs by Time & Life Pictures at gettyimages.com. Keyword: Heilbrunn | | | | | |