Online Drug Dealer Indicted and Sentenced

 Christopher Smith’s neighbors didn’t know exactly what he did for a living. But they knew well that he liked to collect expensive cars and set off fireworks at all hours.

At an age when most of his peers could barely afford a new car, Smith was amassing a collection that would include BMWs, Hummers, a Ferrari, a Jaguar and a Lamborghini. And when other 20-somethings were trying to save for down payments on modest starter homes, Smith paid $1.1 million for a house in a more affluent suburb.

A federal judge shut down Xpress Pharmacy Direct in May and appointed a receiver to take control of the business’ assets. Federal authorities seized $1.8 million in luxury cars, two homes and $1.3 million in cash held by Smith and associates.

http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_236164104.html

http://wcco.com/local/local_story_232134036.html

PARENTREPRENEURS – Some Profiles

 Brenda Dronkers took her 4-year-old son to a church festival with dozens of games and contests, but he kept returning over and over to the big inflatable slide and bounce house. That same week, her 11-year-old daughter came home from another fair, talking nonstop about jousting and sumo wrestling games that had involved inflatable structures.

Dronkers had an idea: Why not start a business providing children’s parties in a big, safe, clean warehouse filled with inflatable play equipment?

Seven years later, the Pleasanton mother is president of a $53 million company called Pump It Up — a franchise operation with 150 party centers in 41 states and an additional 75 centers getting ready to open.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/26/PARENTS.TMP

Wayn.com Makes $750,000 A Month

After a slow start in 2002, WAYN took off after a relaunch in March last year. Pete Ward, 28, one of three friends who founded the firm, said the number of users had since grown from fewer than 50,000 to 7m, with 650,000 more registering last month.

Unlike MySpace, WAYN has been able to convert about 100,000 users into subscribers paying up to £7.50 a month — ensuring that it does not need to rely on advertising.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2471788,00.html