Alleged Delaware County drug trafficker is arrested, charged

A notorious alleged Delaware County drug trafficker who authorities say put his Mexican cocaine suppliers up in a Chadds Ford apartment was arrested yesterday on two separate federal indictments outlining drug and money-laundering charges.

Alfonso "Fonnie" Caldwell, 37, was taken into custody at 5:30 a.m. at his home in Bear, Del., without incident, according to authorities. He is on parole for a 1990 murder, authorities said.

"Mr. Caldwell is out of business," said Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid at a news conference announcing the grand-jury indictments.

The charges stem from transactions between October 2005 and September 2006, authorities said, when Caldwell allegedly distributed more than 24 pounds of cocaine and laundered more than $1 million. If convicted of all charges, Caldwell, who remains in federal custody, faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.

"This investigation deals a major blow to a drug-trafficking organization which operated primarily out of the city of Chester," said G. Michael Green, Delaware County district attorney. "It drives a stake through the heart of an organization which has plagued the community with the scourge of illegal narcotics for a number of years."

Green said the investigation began in September 2006, when state police pulled over a car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County and found eight pounds of cocaine. The driver allegedly admitted purchasing the drugs from Caldwell.

Yesterday, authorities said that Caldwell was getting large shipments of cocaine and marijuana delivered in tractor-trailer trucks from Mexican suppliers.

At times, police said, Caldwell paid the drivers for the cocaine, and other times the suppliers traveled from Mexico to collect from Caldwell. When in town, the suppliers would stay at an apartment leased by Caldwell at the Camden/Summit Valleybrook Apartments at 7200 Johnson Farm Rd. in Chadds Ford, authorities said.

In August 2006, police watched as the Mexican suppliers mailed a large box from the Federal Express/Kinko's office on Concord Pike in Delaware. Authorities found more than $110,000 in cash hidden in a coffeepot inside the package, and police dogs detected the presence of a "narcotics residue" on the money, according to the indictment.

Between 2003 and 2006, police said, more than $500,000 passed though bank accounts in Caldwell's name, while he reported only "modest income" on his taxes. During an interview in January 2008, Caldwell admitted to federal authorities he paid the Mexican suppliers up to $1.5 million, according to federal documents.

Caldwell maintained packaging and distribution facilities in Philadelphia and Chester, according to the documents.

Authorities said numerous attempts had been made on Caldwell's life. In 2001, he was shot in the shoulder as he fled the scene of a shooting near the Chester High School athletic field. A man with Caldwell was killed.