Neighbors recall Costa and his houses; arraignment set
By Oakley Brooks
Neighbors of Michael Costa described him last week as a charming father of two. But they also recalled the repeated activity in the middle of the night at both his Sterling Oak Court home and the Sobey Road house that law enforcement agents say was, for a time, the hub of Costa's alleged nationwide drug smuggling network.
Costa is scheduled to be arraigned this week in U.S. District Court in San Jose on charges that in 2000 and 2001 he led the distribution of 20,000 pounds of marijuana from the South Bay, Central Valley and supply points in El Paso, Texas, to the Boston area.
On April 10, local and federal law enforcement agents arrested nine suspected members of Costa's organization and served him his arrest warrants in Santa Clara County Main Jail, where he awaits trial on state charges.
According to the complaint filed against Costa and a list of 14 other defendants in federal court, the organization netted $8 million in drug sales in 2000 and 2001.
In Saratoga, residents remembered seeing a steady stream of luxury cars and motorcycles in the two quiet neighborhoods where Costa lived and owned property.
"They were spending money like crazy," said Rolf Slade, who lives on Sousa Lane opposite Costa's home at 13409 Sterling Oak Court.
A retired police officer from Ohio, Slade said last week that although his daughter and some neighbors suspected Costa was into illegal dealings due to much late-night activity in his garage, Slade never believed it.
Slade says he knew Costa and his wife Jessica well--they had moved into their Sterling Oak home four years ago, roughly the time Jessica had given birth to the couple's twin girls.
"I liked both [Michael and Jessica]," Slade said. "We were the only people on the block that didn't mind his motorcycles."
"This fooled me," he said of the allegations.
In addition to the Ferraris and other sports cars, Sobey Road residents and workers recalled a constant flow of people in and out of Costa's house around the clock. Chuck Genette, a contractor on a nearby home site, said on several occasions he'd seen 48-foot trucks backing down the access road leading to Costa's house, to unload large boxes on pallets.
According to Dean Ackemann, an agent with the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team and the lead investigator on the Costa case, Costa's home at 14900 Sobey Road was the center of his distribution network from early 2001 until May of that year. The headquarters then switched to a house at 923 Meridian Ave. in San Jose, Ackemann said.
He added that Costa's property on Sobey Road was to be redeveloped with drug proceeds and sold after it was abandoned.
But one nearby neighbor, who wished not to be identified, said the Sobey Road property had been quiet for more than nine months. According to court documents, both the Sobey Road property and the Sterling Oak Court house have been on sale since late February, following Costa's imprisonment on state ammunition and perjury charges.
As of last week, Costa, who has past felony convictions, still had not settled on a lawyer to defend him on the federal complaint of drug trafficking, illegal use of firearms, kidnapping and money laundering, on which he faces a maximum of life in prison.
San Jose criminal defense attorney Phil Pennypacker has been appearing on Michael Costa's behalf in early court proceedings. Pennypacker would not comment on the case last week.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
