Former Thornton mayor held $400,000 for alleged drug ring leader
June 18th, 2009
Former Thornton mayor Noel Busck is a witness in the case against Dan Tag after he was given $400,000 for safe keeping by the accused drug ring leader. Image: RTD
In an interesting development in the case of Dan Tang, owner of Heaven’s Dragon, former Thornton mayor Noel Busck is said to have accepted $400,000 from Tang for safe keeping. Court documents list Busck as a witness saying he accepted the money so Tang could “have money to live on, to pay bills, to pay employees.”
The Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel reported:
Former Thornton Mayor Noel Busck confirmed on Wednesday a statement by Tang in the affidavit that the restaurateur asked Busck to hold approximately $400,000 in mid-February 2008. Busck, who has been close friends with Tang since 1986, said he accepted the money with great apprehension.
“He and his wife (Xiu Ying Li) came over to my house with a black plastic bag and said he had taken money out of safety deposit boxes because police were going to confiscate it,” Busck said. “He said, ‘I need to give it to you to have money to live on, to pay bills, to pay employees. Would you hold it?’”
Busck said he accepted the money in the afternoon and placed it in a safety deposit box. Busck said Tang called the next morning to say he had told the police he had given the money to Busck, and that he needed it back. Busck said he returned the cash to Tang.
Tang returned later that same evening, Busck believes in an attempt to deliver more money.
“He said, ‘Hi, Noel,’ and started to walk to his truck,” Busck said. “I told him that I wouldn’t take the money this time, that I didn’t want to get involved. He said, ‘OK’ and drove away.”
Busck, who is listed as a witness in the court documents, said he has given sworn statements to the U.S. Attorney handling the case.
Tang surrendered to federal authorities today and will be charged with money laundering as head of the “Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization.” Tang is accused of being the money man behind the marijuana growing scheme that bought houses across the north metro area to serve as farms for the drug.
Busck currently is an elected official serving on the RTD Board of Directors for District K as a representative of the north metro area. Prior to that he served as a Thornton city councilman and the city’s mayor for 10 years.
Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel: Charges filed in marijuana bust
I would say this definitely falls under the category “What were you thinking!?!?!?!?” Either Noel Busck is ignorant, dumb or corrupt. I know that if someone came to my door – no matter who it is – with $400,000 in a black bag I would turn them away and instantly call 911.
MR. dan tag had the best oriental food on
the north side ,but NO BODY IS ABOUT THE LAW.
We are going to leave the comment from “Nikki” in place for a bit while we work to verify the comment’s claims. This is a very serious accusation and if proven true, is very troubling. If this is false, we will immediately remove it.
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We have removed the comment from a site visitor that made some accusations against another local public official saying they too held money for Dan Tang. The information we have received indicates they were false.
Comments that make accusations proven to be false will be removed.
[...] Former Thornton mayor held $400,000 for alleged drug ring leader [...]
Noel Busck is running for Re-election for the RTD Board. Come on people…wake up. Whether you are a Democrat like Mr. Busck or a Republican like I am, it shouldn’t matter. We have a corrupt politician who in my view is a criminal. He holds a trash bag with $400,000 inside given to him by Dan Tang, owner of Heaven’s Dragon Restaurant and Mr. Tang even tells Noel Busck that the police (CLUE # 1) were essentially raiding (CLUE # 2) his safety deposit boxes (CLUE # 3)….and he needed former Mayor Busck to hold onto the money so he could meet his financial obligations.
Wake up and smell the coffee people or in this case, I think it is more like feces. Do you want a corrupt politician like Noel Busck (Democrat or Republican…it doesn’t matter) deciding where the millions gets spent by RTD? I say ABB…..Anybody But Busck….What kind of ego does this guy have anyway. He knows he is a criminal that probably should even be prosecuted for his actions and yet he seems to think he is the best man for the RTD Board job. Give me a break!
[...] won election this past November over incumbent director Noel Busck who is now most famous for the $400,000 bag he accepted from the criminal Dan Tag. Riley is a union lover who previously, as a representative of the American Federation of State, [...]
[...] Frank is the daughter of former Thornton Mayor / former RTD Director Noel Busck – a Democrat. Busck also is part of a citizens group that filed a complaint with the state over the shady property tax dealings. You of course also know Busck for his acceptance of $400,000 cash from a convicted felon. [...]
[...] Calls for Reyes to resign are sure to mount, even as one group says that if he does not, he will face a recall election. That group is ironically led by former Thornton Mayor Noel Busk, a Democrat himself most famous for holding on to $400,000 of illegal drug money for drug kingpin Dan…. [...]