Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison for Mailing Drug-laced Books to Inmates

CLEVELAND – A Lucas County man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for his role in soaking the pages of books in illegal drugs to ship to inmates at local a prison.

Austin Siebert, 30, of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 140 months (approximately 11 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent after pleading guilty in August to the following charges as outlined in the indictment:

• Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; prior convictions include Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs in 2018 and Robbery in 2021.
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.

Siebert was also ordered to serve four years of supervised release after imprisonment. Judge Nugent imposed the sentence Nov. 18.

According to court documents, prison officials at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County discovered that Siebert was in regular communication with several inmates and mailing books to them. Prison investigators seized suspicious book packages which were then sent to a forensic lab for analysis. The seized contraband tested positive for the presence of synthetic cannabinoids such as 5-Fluoro-ADB and MDMB-4en-PINACA. Subsequently, a federal search warrant was executed at Siebert’s residence in Maumee where agents seized a paperback book suspected of being soaked with narcotics; a loaded Bersa Thunder, .380 semiautomatic pistol; several bags containing suspected drugs in pill and powder forms; a book binding machine; and package mailing labels.

This case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Grafton Correctional Institution.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Segev Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio.