Arland Paulette, of Brooklyn, IL, was sentenced on October 3, 2011, in United States District Court in East St. Louis, on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Arland Paulette, 56, was sentenced on both counts to 87 months in prison, 3 years’ supervised release, and a $400 fine, to run concurrently, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment. Paulette also forfeited the firearm.

Paulette, who had previously pled guilty to the charges, admitted that he had become a member of the conspiracy. Between 2006 and 2010, Paulette allowed his Brooklyn, Illinois, residence to be used by a co-conspirator to arrange for the transportation of drug proceeds and at least 40 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride between Brooklyn, Illinois and his co-conspirator’s cocaine supplier in Texas. Paulette actively assisted his co-conspirator by loading drug proceeds into and unloading kilogram quantities of cocaine out from spare tires of rental vehicles, at the direction of his co-conspirator, which were used to transport these items. In return for his assistance, Paulette was paid in cash by his co-conspirator. The conspiracy took place in St. Clair County, Illinois between 2006 and 2010.

In addition, Paulette gave consent to search his residence, where a firearm was recovered. Paulette admitted to possessing the firearm and that he was a convicted felon who was not allowed to possess the firearm.

The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), with the Drug Enforcement Administration as the lead agency. The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.

 

 

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