Las Vegas, Nev. - Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, and Ellen B. Knowlton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for Nevada, announce that ROBERT JOSEPH MARSHALL, age 69, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd D. George to 262 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for his October 2002 jury conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (cocaine) and Distribution of a Controlled Substance (cocaine).

According to the court records, on March 10, 2001, at MARSHALL's request, MARSHALL's co-defendant CLARENCE CROZIER transported a kilogram of powder cocaine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. At a Las Vegas casino, CROZIER met with MARSHALL and RICHARD VELUZ, who was cooperating with the FBI. CROZIER provided the kilogram of cocaine to VELUZ, who delivered it to another individual for $21,000. Thereafter, MARSHALL paid CROZIER $18,000 for the cocaine, and VELUZ and MARSHALL split the other $3,000.

Co-defendant CLARENCE CROZIER pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and was sentenced on December 13, 2002, to 46 months in prison.

The Court found that MARSHALL was a career offender pursuant to the provisions of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, resulting in a significant increase in his sentence. A defendant is classified as a career offender if the offense of conviction is a felony crime of violence or controlled substance offense and the defendant has at least two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence or controlled substances.

The prosecution and conviction of ROBERT JOSEPH MARSHALL and CLARENCE CROZIER was the result of an investigation by Special Agents of the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Johnson and Kimberly Frayn.

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