Marijuana Distributor Sentenced to over 10 Years in Prison
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Anthony Marcantoni, a/k/a “Mr. Purple,” age 32, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 121 months in prison followed by eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Judge Titus also ordered Marcantoni to pay a money judgment of $500,000 and forfeit all property obtained as a result of the drug trafficking.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Brisolari of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Rick A. Raven of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
“IRS Criminal Investigation along with its law enforcement partners will continually collaborate on large scale narcotic investigations. This collaborative effort is essential to combating drug-distribution organizations such as this one,” said Rick A. Raven, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington DC Field Office.
According to Marcantoni’s guilty plea, between 2006 and January 2011, Marcantoni was a dealer and distributor in a marijuana conspiracy and regularly obtained shipments that ranged from 50 to 250 pounds, sometimes as often as twice a month. Marcantoni and his co-conspirators used multiple cellular telephones to communicate and to avoid detection by law enforcement. In addition, the conspirators used aliases and false identities to conceal their activities and to conceal the source and control of the proceeds from distributing marijuana. Marcantoni knew that his co-conspirators purchased and rented residences that were used to store and distribute marijuana and to collect money from the marijuana sales. Marcantoni received deliveries from co-conspirators at locations in Baltimore, including a supermarket in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore. After Marcantoni sold the marijuana, he provided the proceeds, sometimes as much as $100,000, to co-conspirators. During the conspiracy, Marcantoni’s marijuana supplier gave Marcantoni a Rolex watch as a reward for his performance selling marijuana.
Marcantoni admitted that during the conspiracy he was responsible for the distribution of between 700 and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. Marcantoni was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in the District of Maryland and was on supervised release at the time he committed this offense.
Co-defendants Andrew Sharpeta, age 37, of Avondale, Pennsylvania; Ian Travis Minshall, age 30, of Baltimore; Joseph Spain, age 68, of Cocoa Beach, Florida; Adam Constantinides, age 34, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Sean Costello, age 34, of Kaneohe, Hawaii; Ryan Forman, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jeremiah Landsman, age 32, of Owings Mills, Maryland; and Michael Phillips, age 39, of Coatsville, Pennsylvania, all pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy. Sharpeta was sentenced to 63 months in prison and Minshall to four years in prison; the others are awaiting sentencing. Daniel McIntosh, age 37, of Sparks, Maryland and Keegan Leahy, age 35, of Chicago, Illinois, were convicted by a federal jury on November 1, 2012, after a seven week trial, and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Montgomery County and Baltimore County Police Departments for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Deborah A. Johnston and Mara Zusman Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.
