Homer Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison

ANCHORAGE—Acting United States Attorney Frank V. Russo announced today that a Homer man was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 132 months in prison, following a trial that resulting in his conviction for conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and heroin. After completion of his sentence of imprisonment, Bairamis will be on federal supervised release for five years.

On November 23, 2011, Kostas Nikolaos Bairamis, 23, formerly of Homer, Alaska, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy M. Burgess.

Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Sayers-Fay, who prosecuted the case, said the trial evidence showed that Bairamis began buying methamphetamine from an Anchorage source weekly beginning in late summer 2008. Bairamis began buying ounces of methamphetamine, but escalated to four and eight ounce quantities as time went on. In August 2009, Bairamis persuaded the same source to “front” him one pound and nine ounces of methamphetamine, for which he agreed to pay approximately $78,600. However, Bairamis repaid $20,000 of the drug debt, and could not repay the rest. Fearing retribution, Bairamis fled to Greece for a month, but later returned and repaid the drug debt by giving his source the title to an 2008 Cadillac Escalade that was worth approximately $41,000. Bairamis had previously purchased the Escalade—and other luxury vehicles—with drug trafficking proceeds.

At sentencing, Judge Burgess expressed concern that Bairamis was “completely disconnected from reality” and had an inflated sense of self worth, self importance and entitlement that suggest mental health concerns. Judge Burgess noted that Bairamis engaged in disturbingly “reckless” conduct that endangered even his own toddler, and that Bairamis has demonstrated difficulty controlling his emotions and anger, especially in response to perceived slights. For these reasons, Judge Burgess ordered the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate Bairamis for mental health issues, and noted that Bairamis may be required to participate in outpatient mental health treatment even after completion of his 11 years of imprisonment. Despite Bairamis’ youth, Judge Burgess noted that this sentence, which was one year above the mandatory minimum, was warranted in light of Bairamis’ effort to influence the testimony of a witness against him.

Bairamis currently has another federal case pending in which he is charged with participation in an oxycontin trafficking conspiracy that postdates the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the 11-year sentence.

Mr. Russo commends the work of the FBI and the Alaska State Troopers, who led the investigation that culminated in Bairamis’ drug-trafficking conviction.