Pittsfield Man Sentenced to 130 Months for Methamphetamine Trafficking

            CONCORD - John F. Kelekci, 35, of Pittsfield, New Hampshire, was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to serve 130 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, methamphetamine, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

             According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in late 2016, the DEA and the Postal Inspection Service investigated numerous parcels mailed from Las Vegas, Nevada, to New Hampshire suspected of containing methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers also investigated parcels mailed from New Hampshire to Las Vegas, Nevada, suspected of containing United States currency, and money transfers from New Hampshire to Las Vegas. Eventually, law enforcement officers identified Edward Espejo as the individual in Las Vegas who was shipping methamphetamine to New Hampshire in return for money transfers or packages of cash mailed to him.

            On December 19, 2017, a Priority Express Mail parcel was mailed from "Brian C Sullivan" at an address in Las Vegas, to a business in Suncook, New Hampshire. On December 20, 2017, an employee of the business contacted local law enforcement to report concerns that the parcel contained illegal narcotics. Police responded to the business and discovered that the parcel contained a plastic vacuum-sealed bag containing 123.9 grams of 100 percent pure methamphetamine. After interviewing witnesses at the business, law enforcement identified the defendant as the intended recipient of the parcel and determined that, earlier in the day on December 20, 2017, the defendant had been waiting at the business for a parcel to arrive, but had departed the business before the mail arrived. Further investigation revealed that the day before the package was shipped, the defendant had wired $2,400 to Espejo in Las Vegas as payment for the drugs.

            In January of 2018, the defendant drove from New Hampshire to Las Vegas and met with

            Espejo in person. While in Las Vegas, the defendant was wired money by several New Hampshire residents. On January 16, 2018, the defendant mailed two packages to New Hampshire, each containing more than five grams of actual methamphetamine. The first package was intercepted and seized pursuant to a search warrant. On January 20, 2018, the defendant flew home to New Hampshire, leaving behind the car he had driven to Las Vegas at Espejo's house.

            On March 9, 2018, the defendant was arrested in New Hampshire by local police following a vehicle chase. During a search of the vehicle the defendant was driving, police seized multiple items, including $6,150 in cash, a Wal-Mart money transfer receipt for $1,500 with Edward Espejo's name on it, and 27.8 grams of 100 percent pure methamphetamine.

            Records obtained in the investigation confirmed hundreds of telephone contacts between the defendant and Espejo, as well as multiple money transfers to Espejo and one of Espejo’s associates.    

            Kelekci previously pleaded guilty on September 27, 2018.

            Espejo previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.  Two other defendants in this conspiracy, Michael Bean and Mark Moore, are also awaiting sentencing.        

            “This case highlights the emergence of methamphetamine as a lethal substance that threatens the health and safety of New Hampshire communities,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Traffickers will use any available means, including the U.S. Mail, to transport their deadly products across the country, making them available for sale on our streets. As is apparent from the lengthy sentence imposed in this case, those who choose to bring methamphetamine into New Hampshire should understand that they face severe consequences for this unlawful conduct.”    

                “DEA is committed to bring to justice those that distribute methamphetamine,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “DEA and its local, state and federal partners will do everything in our power to keep this highly addictive drug off the streets of New Hampshire.”

            “The sentence imposed should give fair warning that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will seek justice for those who traffic illegal narcotics through the U.S. Mail,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Inspector in Charge, Joseph W. Cronin of the Boston Division.  “This highly addictive drug has no place in our communities.  We will continue to identify and investigate those who engage in this type of drug trafficking."

            This matter was investigated by the DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  

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