Raven
Saturday, January 12th, 2008, 05:33 PM
A drug dealer who distributed at least 50 kilograms of cocaine in the Rochester area has been ordered to prison for 17 years.
U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer imposed that sentence Thursday on James Andre Clark, 34, who was convicted in June 2007 of conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The judge also fined Clark $2,000 and ordered him to be supervised for five years after his release from prison.
"We're pleased with the sentence," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas E. Gregory.
"This guy was heavily involved in narcotics trafficking."
Clark was convicted of distributing cocaine with a street value of several million dollars from January 1998 through April 2004.
According to testimony, Clark ran crack cocaine houses on Reynolds Street and Columbia Avenue. He also rented an apartment on Weldon Street where police found 19 empty wrappers for kilograms of cocaine, packing material, an electric money counter, and beakers for processing powder cocaine into crack cocaine.
Clark paid $50,000 in cash for that apartment and another, according to trial testimony. The prosecution also presented evidence that he paid $140,000 to $160,000 in cash to buy 12 automobiles from Rochester Auto Connection, a now-closed dealership on East Ridge Road. The dealership's owner, Antonio Costa, 37, testified for the prosecution at Clark's trial, pleaded guilty to money laundering and admitted he knew the cash he received for the cars was derived by illegal activities. Costa faces a prison term of up to 41 months when he's sentenced.
Source (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS01/801120326/1002/NEWS)
U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer imposed that sentence Thursday on James Andre Clark, 34, who was convicted in June 2007 of conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The judge also fined Clark $2,000 and ordered him to be supervised for five years after his release from prison.
"We're pleased with the sentence," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas E. Gregory.
"This guy was heavily involved in narcotics trafficking."
Clark was convicted of distributing cocaine with a street value of several million dollars from January 1998 through April 2004.
According to testimony, Clark ran crack cocaine houses on Reynolds Street and Columbia Avenue. He also rented an apartment on Weldon Street where police found 19 empty wrappers for kilograms of cocaine, packing material, an electric money counter, and beakers for processing powder cocaine into crack cocaine.
Clark paid $50,000 in cash for that apartment and another, according to trial testimony. The prosecution also presented evidence that he paid $140,000 to $160,000 in cash to buy 12 automobiles from Rochester Auto Connection, a now-closed dealership on East Ridge Road. The dealership's owner, Antonio Costa, 37, testified for the prosecution at Clark's trial, pleaded guilty to money laundering and admitted he knew the cash he received for the cars was derived by illegal activities. Costa faces a prison term of up to 41 months when he's sentenced.
Source (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS01/801120326/1002/NEWS)