A Romanian national convicted of conspiring to traffic hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and engaging in money laundering, arms trafficking, and a plot to assassinate rival gang members has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs of the Eastern District of Texas.
Marius Lazar, 51, of Bucharest, Romania, received a 300-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on January 15, 2025.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Lazar was a founding member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club’s local chapter in Romania. Through connections with a fellow Hells Angels member in New Zealand, Lazar became involved in a conspiracy to purchase over 400 kilograms of cocaine from someone he believed to be a major U.S. drug trafficker, who was actually an undercover DEA agent.
During negotiations, Lazar solicited the agent to assassinate two rival motorcycle club members in Romania and offered to supply military-grade equipment, including rifles, grenades, and armored vehicles, which he believed would be used against U.S. law enforcement. Conspirators transferred nearly $1 million via bank wires and Bitcoin payments for the drugs and murders.
On November 17, 2023, Lazar was convicted by a federal jury in Beaumont on charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Co-defendants Murray Michael Matthews and Marc Patrick Johnson remain fugitives.
The case was investigated by the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, and IRS–Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the ATF. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with Romanian authorities to arrest and extradite Lazar.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation, which targets high-level criminal organizations using a multi-agency, intelligence-driven approach.