BOSTON, Mass. - ADAM JASINSKI, the season nine winner of the CBS reality television show ‘Big Brother,’ was sentenced today to four years in federal prison. At an earlier plea hearing JASINKSI pleaded guilty to drug and tax charges.

JASINSKI, 32, of Delray Beach, Florida will serve four years on a drug trafficking charge and a concurrent term of one year imprisonment for failure to pay income taxes on the $500,000 winnings from the reality show. He was also sentenced to a term of four years of supervised release after his term of incarceration. District Judge William G. Young ordered that he complete drug and mental health treatment after completing his sentence.

At today’s sentencing hearing, JASINSKI’s attorney recommended a sentence of time served, based largely on JASINSKI’s “major mental illness” at the time of his crime, coupled with his post-arrest rehabilitation. The government pointed out that JASINSKI was responsible for distribution of 14,000 oxycodone pills and that this was his second drug offense. JASINSKI was previously convicted in New York state court for possession of 10 pounds of marijuana. In sentencing JASINSKI, Judge Young stated that four years was an appropriate sentence for a serious drug trafficking crime. In imposing sentence, Judge Young admonished JASINKSI for thinking that the rules did not apply to him when he committed the crime and noted that JASINSKI did not stop until he was caught. The Judge expressed concern that if he did not sentence JASINSKI to prison, he would go back to the lifestyle he was living prior to his treatment.

At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government’s evidence would have proven that around October 8, 2009, JASINSKI via telephone agreed to sell a witness who was assisting federal agents in the drug investigation 2,000 pills of oxycodone. On October 17, 2009, he flew from his home in Florida to Massachusetts where he met the witness to make the drug transaction. JASINKSI, after being picked up by the witness at the airport, showed the witness two plastic bags containing approximately 2,000 30-mg oxycodone pills, and then proceeded to a strip mall in North Reading to consummate the drug transaction. Upon arrival, agents approached the car and JASINSKI was arrested. At sentencing, JASINSKI was ultimately held accountable for possessing and distributing 14,000 pills of oxycodone which was considered as a part of his relevant conduct.
Regarding the tax charge, JASINSKI was required by law to file a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for calendar year 2008 on or before October 15, 2009, and to pay whatever tax was due. According to the charges, JASINSKI knowingly and willfully failed to make such return on the $500,000 prize from ‘Big Brother’ which he received in 2008.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Steven Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration – New England Field Division and William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad, which is comprised of investigators from the DEA and the Worcester, Westborough, North Andover, North Reading, and Burlington Police Departments, together with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda M. Ricci and George W. Vien of Ortiz’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

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