U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Jamaican National Pleads Guilty To Drug Trafficking And Bribery
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Damion Christopher Alexander Brown, 42, a Jamaican National residing in Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and bribery of a public official. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5,000,000.00 fine.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Murray and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Bonanno, both of whom handled the case, stated that over a nine-month period between 2012 and 2013, Brown trafficked 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and bribed a United States Postal Service (USPS) carrier to deliver U.S. priority mail parcels filled with marijuana. Brown paid the USPS carrier to provide addresses of unsuspecting citizens, who lived along the carrier’s route in the City of Buffalo, to which parcels filled with marijuana could be mailed. When the boxes arrived in Buffalo, the postal carrier did not deliver the boxes to the listed recipient address, but instead, the carrier held on to the boxes and handed them directly to Brown in exchange for cash payments.
The plea is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge, Kevin Kelly; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin P. Lyons; the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Raymond Moss, Boston Division; the United States Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kenneth G. Cleevely; and the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2018, at 11:00 am before Judge Skretny.
Updated April 4, 2018
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