Mokena Cig Distributor Gets Probation For Smoke Scheme

By Joseph Hosey

An Evergreen Park man operating a cigarette distributorship in Mokena was sentenced to probation and home confinement for his part in a smuggling operation.

Mazher Ali Khan, 49, was found guilty of three counts of contraband cigarette trafficking after an April federal trial in Wisconsin. He was sentenced to two years of probation with the condition that he serve six months home confinement.

Khan was also ordered to pay $58,150 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Revenue, a money judgment of forfeiture in the amount of $125,308.80 and special assessments of $300. A 2009 Ford Econoline van registered to Khan was also forfeited as property used to facilitate the crime.

Five other men were also convicted in connection with the trafficking scheme and two more are fugitives from justice.

Khan operated MAK Distributors Inc. in Mokena. In May, he was named as the victim in a criminal complaint against a grandson of Will County Board Republican Chairman Jim Moustis. The grandson, Nicholas Moustis, faces theft charges for allegedly stealing $3,600 from Khan. An employee of MAK Distributors said Nicholas Moustis pocketed money a customer left with him as payment for a shipment.

Khan's arrest came at the end of a year-long investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to a statement released by the Department of Justice. The probe was initiated by a complaint from a business owner who claimed he was being undercut by crooks dealing in untaxed tobacco products.

The federal operation was put on with a fake warehouse in Milwaukee and an undercover agent posing as a source for untaxed cigarettes, the statement said. Video recordings showed the cigarette scammers carrying in shopping bags of cash to buy untaxed cigarettes.

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