Woburn Mother and Son Burned by $15,000 Worth of Untaxed Tobacco Products

WOBURN - When Woburn police pulled up to an apartment in the Glennbrook Estates they saw two cars with their doors open and packed to the roof with tobacco products, according to Woburn police.

Although initially evasive with police about where the tobacco products come from and where they were going, Soung S. Moon-Kim, 55, and her 23-year-old son Hyeok C. Moon, both of 200 Bedford Road, Apt. F20, finally produced three receipts - two from K-T Wholesale in Philadelphia totaling $1,148 in tobacco products and a $3,567 receipt that had no company name on it.

None of the dozens of boxes containing hundreds of of tobacco products - cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and wraps - had a tax stamp on them from Massachusetts.

Woburn police estimate the total value of the untaxed items was $15,000 to $20,000.

In Woburn District Court, Moon-Kim and her son are free on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty last November to attempt to evade tax and conspiracy. At their last court date on Friday, Judge Timothy Gailey scheduled a motion date for the mother and son for May 8.

Woburn police allege in court documents that they checked the GPS attached to Moon-Kim's car and noted destinations that included Philadelphi Park Casino, Mohegan Sun Park and Casino, Twin River Casino and Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MA.

Moon and his mother told police they picked up the tobacco items for a friend named "Kevin'' and produced the friend's full name and phone number from a cell phone. Capt. Paul D'Amour assigned to the state Attorney General's Tobacco Smuggling Task Force identified the man as a Winchester resident. Police did not charge him in this case.

Photo by Lisa Redmond/lisa.redmond@patch.com.