Jury Convicts Fentanyl Supplier Of Conspiracies, Distribution, And Causing A Near-Fatal Overdose

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Joseph Marion (41, St. Petersburg) guilty of two counts of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine; one count of distributing fentanyl; and one count of distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury. Marion previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Marion faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 16, 2024.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Marion was a second-tier supplier of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine. He imported fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from China via the U.S. mail, blended and packaged the controlled substances himself, and then sold the drugs from his home to street dealers who further distributed them to users. During the trial, one of the street dealers testified that she bought 40 - 100 bags of fentanyl from Marion each day, every day, for several years. In November 2019, a woman who was with Marion in his apartment snorted Marion’s fentanyl, thinking it was heroin, and nearly died. Paramedics were able to save her, though she was hospitalized for days afterward.

In November 2019, agents executed a search warrant for Marion’s apartment and seized large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, as well as thousands of branded wrappers used to package fentanyl and heroin.

Marion was known by the nickname “Backpage Jay” because his other source of illicit income was advertising and “managing” prostitutes on the now-defunct website Backpage.com.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon. 

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.