A former mechanic for American Airlines came dangerously close to smuggling 25 pounds of cocaine worth a quarter of a million dollars into the country before the aircraft was flagged for an arbitrary check.
Paul Belloisi, 56, was sentenced to nine years in prison by a federal judge in New York on Friday for his alleged involvement in a plot to import and possess cocaine.
In February 2020, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, police found ten bricks that contained more than twenty-five pounds of cocaine in the electronics compartment of an American Airlines flight. According to the Justice Department, the aircraft was chosen for a standard search after it arrived from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
According to the Justice Department, throughout their investigation, authorities took out the cocaine and replaced the bricks with imitations coated in a material that glowed in the dark. They watched as Belloisi pulled himself into the electronics compartment while keeping an eye on the aircraft. According to the news release, when officers used the black light on Belloisi’s hands, they noticed a glow that suggested he had shifted the bricks.
According to the Justice Department, Belloisi’s jacket had “cutouts sufficiently large enough to hold the bricks,” and he was also carrying a tool bag.
According to the authorities, the cocaine had a street value of over $250,000.
According to The Washington Post, Belloisi’s attorneys argued in court that the prison term was excessive and that there was no proof of his ever taking part in a drug trafficking scheme.
According to attorney David Jason Cohen, “the sentence went far beyond what is necessary,” to the site.
A request for comment regarding Belloisi’s sentence was not immediately answered by American Airlines.
