Three St. Thomas men – Leayle Morton Benjamin Jr., Aben A. Marrero Jr. and Michael Samuels – were each sentenced to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe said Tuesday.
The sentences were handed down by District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez.
According to Sharpe’s announcement, Benjamin, 50; Marrero, 34; and Samuels, 39, were convicted on Oct. 5 after a three-day jury trial.
Evidence at trial established that – from a time unknown but continuing to October 2011 – Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels conspired to smuggle cocaine through the Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas to Atlanta. Benjamin and Marrero were employees of the Virgin Islands Port Authority assigned to the maintenance division. The cocaine was passed under the partitions to a co-conspirator in the bathroom of the Cyril E. King Airport.
On Oct. 22, 2011, a co-conspirator was arrested in Atlanta after arriving on board a flight from St. Thomas in possession of seven kilos of cocaine in his carryon suitcase. The co-conspirator agreed to cooperate with the government and made consensually monitored telephone calls that resulted in the apprehension of another co-conspirator, Jace Edwards, who was found guilty in a separate trial and is awaiting sentencing.
The cooperator pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Georgia to importation of cocaine. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to cooperate with the government and testified in the trial of Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels.
In addition to the 121 months incarceration, each of the three defendants was placed on five years’ supervised release and ordered to forfeit $113,400.
Upon sentencing, each defendant was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
According to Sharpe, the case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson L. Jones prosecuted the case.
