Drug Trafficking and Failure to Appear Charges in Providence RI
Criminal Charges:
Woman charged in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island for:
- Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 Kilograms or More of Marijuana, in violation of 21 USC §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(B) and 846
- Failure to Appear for Sentencing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3146 (a)(1)
City, County, and Court:
- Providence, Rhode Island
- United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Case Overview:
In 2005, a multiagency task force, including members of the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was causing large shipments of marijuana to be sent to Rhode Island from Mexico. The drugs were sent in 18-wheeler tractor trailer trucks, which also carried cover loads to mask the illicit marijuana contents. The investigation revealed that the girlfriend of a drug cartel affiliate was placed in Rhode Island to coordinate the incoming shipments of marijuana. Investigators identified her and arrested her and several truckers during the interruption of a large delivery. The Arizona woman was charged in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island with Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 Kilograms or More of Marijuana. The cartel retained a lawyer to represent her, who advised her to plead guilty to the charge, thereby exposing her to a mandatory minimum jail term of 5 years, and a maximum potential punishment of 40 years. Fearful the woman would apply for the safety valve, which required her to speak to authorities, the cartel caused the woman’s children to be kidnapped and taken to Mexico. Fearful for their safety, the woman went also, causing her too to be kidnapped and held in captivity with her kids for many years, before they grew up and everyone was able to escape. Because the woman failed to appear for sentencing, she violated her bail conditions and was indicted for Failure to Appear. After some years of trying to regain her footing in life, she decided to face the ghosts of her past, she turned herself into authorities and was taken into custody at the Mexico – United States border in Arizona. Once extradited to Rhode Island, she retained Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend her in this matter.
Case Result: Time Served, Followed by a Term of Supervised Release.
Attorney Calcagni negotiated a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on his client’s behalf, to include revisiting the terms thereof from the old case. Based on these efforts and despite an advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of 51 – 63 months, Attorney successfully persuaded the Court and prosecutors to agree to a sentence of time served, after the woman spent approximately 10 months in pretrial custody.