Silver Spring Nightclub Owner Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Jason Miskiri, age 40, of Silver Spring, Maryland today to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. Judge Titus also entered an order that Miskiri forfeit all of his interest in Society Lounge.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Andre Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.           

 According to his plea agreement and court documents, Miskiri obtained marijuana from several sources for distribution in Maryland.  Miskiri was arrested in March 2009 in Texas after purchasing 209 pounds of marijuana that he intended to transport to Maryland.

Miskiri was also the largest customer of a drug trafficking organization headed by Garfield Mullings (Mullings DTO) that shipped large quantities of marijuana from California to Maryland.  On numerous occasions from 2010 to 2012, Miskiri gave money to the Mullings DTO to buy marijuana in California and Arizona, which was shipped using commercial shipping companies to Miskiri in Maryland.  He also received marijuana on consignment, and paid for it once it was sold.  Initially, some of the shipments were sent to Island Flavors Restaurant in Laurel, Maryland, which Miskiri owned and operated.  From August 31, 2010 to May 20, 2011, 8,690 pounds of freight, including marijuana, was delivered to the restaurant.  After May 20, 2011, Miskiri continued to pick up large quantities of marijuana from the Mullings DTO at other locations.

In 2012, Miskiri obtained marijuana from other Texas sources with whom he met in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

Miskiri used the drug proceeds to open the Society Lounge, an upscale nightclub located on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Miskiri did not file a personal tax return for any of the years in which he was engaged in the drug trafficking activity.

During his participation in the drug conspiracy, Miskiri was found to be responsible for the distribution of between 3,000 and 10,000 kilograms of marijuana.

In a separate case, Garfield Mullings, age 41, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and five others previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Mullings on May 29, 2014 to five years in prison and entered an order that Mullings forfeit $12,190,000.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised HSI Baltimore, DEA and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Houston, Texas Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety for their assistance.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew C. Sullivan and Evan T. Shea, who prosecuted the case.