Crime, Corruption, and Cyber Heros in the Arch City

Top of Mind

The Launderer: $9.5 million!

When you think of your local grocery store, chances are you’re picturing a place to grab some snacks, maybe run into a neighbor, or stock up on basics. What you’re probably not imagining is a multimillion-dollar Breaking Bad level laundering operation. But for nearly five years, that’s exactly what was happening at La Tiendita, a small grocery store located at 2516 W. Broad Street in Columbus.

From 2016 to 2021, Alejandro Ventura-Santos, a co-operator of La Tiendita, used the store as a front for laundering upwards of $9.5 million in drug proceeds. Drug traffickers didn’t just pop in to pick up produce—they came by with large sums of cash, which Ventura-Santos then funneled to Mexico, wiring the money in structured amounts to avoid detection. It was like a scene straight out of a crime drama, except this one took place right in the heart of central Ohio.

Court documents reveal that Ventura-Santos would falsify sender names and addresses to mask the illegal transactions. And in a particularly brazen moment, he even accepted $9,900 from undercover agents posing as heroin dealers, keeping a tidy 10% commission for himself before wiring the money to his supposed contacts in Mexico. All told, Ventura-Santos pocketed at least $1 million through his role in the scheme.

Federal investigators began eyeing La Tiendita in 2019, after witnesses, including drug traffickers themselves, tipped them off about the store’s role in the money-laundering operation. Undercover agents confirmed the store’s shady dealings through surveillance footage, which showed wire transfers being made at times when no customers were entering or exiting the store.

The bulk of the laundered money was sent to areas in Mexico, particularly the Sinaloa and Nayarit regions, where the funds helped sustain drug trafficking operations in central Ohio. Ventura-Santos’s efforts were aimed at aiding these cartels in their drug trade right here in Columbus.

In April 2024, Ventura-Santos pleaded guilty to money laundering, and last month, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbely handed down a six-year prison sentence. As part of his plea deal, Ventura-Santos will forfeit the $1 million he gained from the scheme.

"It might sound like fiction, but this story underscores a harsh truth: occasionally, what's passing through the backrooms isn't produce or canned goods—it's millions of dollars in cold hard cash."

Scarlet Letter Trivia

Question: According to Chatgpt and its sources, approximately how much money is laundered through Ohio each year?

A) $1.2–$5.7 billion

B) $10.8–$28.8 billion

C) $54.7–$109.1 billion

D) Less than $1 billion

The Corruption: $500,000!!

CMHA’s CEO Gets a Raise While Residents Get the Runaround

Charles Hillman, CEO of the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), is now the highest-paid housing authority leader in the country, raking in $550,000 a year. While Hillman’s salary soars, residents are stuck in endless lines, struggling with a voucher program that’s been outsourced to a Canadian contractor—CGI. The promise of saving $1 million a year by privatizing the program? Never materialized. Instead, families are left dealing with bureaucratic nightmares, just to keep a roof over their heads.

Take, for instance, a mother of four who’s been forced to make three trips to CGI’s office in a single week—leaving her child in the ICU just to sort out paperwork. “I had to leave my baby in the hospital to stand in line here,” she said. “And every time, they tell me something different.”

Yet, CMHA Board President James Ervin defends Hillman’s raise, praising his “transformative” leadership. What Ervin fails to mention is that this so-called transformation included laying off nearly 50 local workers and outsourcing jobs that could have stayed in Columbus. Job creation? Hardly. Hillman’s leadership has been more about shifting responsibility to an out-of-town contractor, while residents bear the brunt of delayed services and mistakes.

Since When Do We Out Source To Canada

Meanwhile, a federal audit from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed nearly 250 violations in CMHA’s housing choice voucher program—think faulty smoke detectors, exposed wiring, and unsafe living conditions. Instead of addressing these serious safety issues, Hillman seems more focused on protecting his six-figure salary and bonuses.

Initially, CMHA hinted they would drop CGI after the company’s mishandling of the voucher program, but that’s off the table now. The contractor stays, with CMHA promising “improvements” like opening a new RISE center for document drop-offs. But for many residents, it’s too little, too late.

Our Cyber Hero: -$25,000!!!

 Columbus Cyberattack: The Whistleblower, the Lawsuit, and the Fallout

This summer, Columbus joined the growing list of cities hit by ransomware, courtesy of a cybercrime group known as Rhysida. You might not have heard of them yet, but they’re quickly gaining infamy for all the wrong reasons. Linked to Eastern Europe—possibly Russia—Rhysida is notorious for locking up city systems and demanding massive ransoms. But when they hit Columbus, it wasn’t just the usual scramble to recover data. The breach was deeper, and the city’s response? Let’s just say it sparked more than a few raised eyebrows.

Enter Connor Goodwolf, a local IT consultant from Columbus, whose work involves tracking cybercrime on the dark web. When the news broke, Goodwolf dug into the breach and found something far more alarming than the official narrative suggested. Three terabytes of data had been stolen, exposing private information like Social Security numbers, police files, and even sensitive details on domestic violence victims—all easily accessible to anyone with the know-how to find it.

Despite the agreement, much of the stolen data is still circulating on the dark web, including sensitive information that could impact thousands of Columbus residents. And Goodwolf isn’t the only one concerned. Security experts like Jeff Nathan have been vocal in criticizing the city’s approach. Nathan, who penned an open letter to City Attorney Zach Klein, warned that lawsuits like this one could discourage future whistleblowers from coming forward, putting public safety at risk.

Nathan’s letter has gained global attention, with cybersecurity professionals around the world rallying to support Goodwolf. They argue that dark web access isn’t the specialized skill it’s often made out to be—anyone can access it, which makes the need for transparency all the more urgent. “The bigger story here is the message this sends to future researchers: Keep quiet or face the consequences,” Nathan said.

As Columbus continues to recover from the attack, questions remain about how the city handled the breach—and whether its response has done more harm than good. Mayor Andrew Ginther has since walked back his initial assurances, acknowledging that the data breach was more serious than he’d first stated. Now, the city is offering two years of free credit monitoring to those affected, but for many, that might be too little, too late.

The case against Goodwolf isn’t just a local issue—it’s become a flashpoint in the global debate over cybersecurity, whistleblowing, and public transparency. Will this lawsuit set a dangerous precedent, or will it serve as a cautionary tale for cities navigating the complexities of cybercrime?

For now, Columbus finds itself at a crossroads. The city must decide whether it will prioritize public safety and transparency, or whether it will continue down a path that could silence those who are working to protect us from the next big breach. And as Goodwolf continues to fight his legal battle, one thing is certain: the eyes of the cybersecurity world are watching.

Signing Off