School Administrator Found Guilty OfMoney Laundering

NORFOLK, Va. - (10/17/05) -- A former assistant superintendentfor Prince George's County schools in suburban Washington, D.C.,was found guilty of five counts of money laundering Friday in amajor drug conspiracy case. Pamela Hoffler-Ridick, 44 faces up to20 years in prison after being convicted of funneling more than$16,000 in proceeds from a multi-million dollar drug ring throughher account at Virginia Educators CU. She claimed she didn't knowthat her then-boyfriend was using her to hide his drug profits.Hoffler-Riddick was one of 40 defendants charged in 'OperationBlowfish,' a ring that federal agents said distributed about $20million in marijuana and cocaine, imported mostly from Mexico tosoutheastern Virginia and other locations between 1996 and 2004.She was once a standout educator in Virginia Beach and in Norfolk,then later in Maryland, where she lost her $138,000-a-year jobafter her arrest last year.