Federal Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Case in Rhode Island Case Result
Criminal Charges:
A man charged in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island for:
- Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 5 Kilograms or More of Cocaine, in violation of 21 USC §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A) and 846
- Using a Communications Facility to Commit a Drug Felony, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 843 (b) and (d)(1)
Case Overview:
United States Postal Inspectors and members of the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated a multistate, drug trafficking network that utilized the United States mail system to import kilogram quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Rhode Island. The volume of packages containing drugs that was sent to Rhode Island was so large that governmental authorities named the operation as a cocaine pipeline. Among those arrested and charged in this conspiracy was a young man who was responsible for receiving at least seven United States Postal Services packages to his home, shipped there from Puerto Rico, which each contained a minimum of one kilogram of cocaine. The man was caught red-handed by authorities when the last of the second packages was delivered, after agents confirmed its illicit contents. The man fell victim to the government’s controlled delivery, resulting in the identification and apprehension of the man. After using the services of a public defender and being ordered held without bail, he immediately retained Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Case Result: Time Served, Followed by a Term of Supervised Release.
Attorney Calcagni miraculously secured his client’s release on bail, over time, after overcoming a rebuttable presumption of no bail in federal drug cases. Because of the type and quantity of drugs involved in the case, the man faced a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 10 years, and a possible life sentence, upon conviction. However, Attorney Calcagni successfully negotiated a complex plea agreement on the man’s behalf that spared him from any further exposure to mandatory jail time. At the time of sentencing, though the man’s advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines were 135 – 168 months, Attorney persuaded the Court to impose a sentence of time served for his client, which equaled approximately 29 months behind bars.