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Date: 02-05-2024
Case Style:
Case Number:
Judge: Carl J. Barbier
Court: The United States Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for New Orleans
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
PEDRO SARANTE, age 42, a resident of Bronx, New York, was sentenced on February 1, 2024 by United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to ninety-six (96) months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, on May 2, 2022, a Louisiana State Trooper stopped a 2005 Peterbilt tractor with a New Jersey license plate, for a motor carrier inspection, on Interstate 12 East. The trooper identified the driver and the passenger, and confirmed that the passenger, SARANTE, owned the tractor.
When interviewed by the trooper regarding their itinerary and cargo, neither man could describe their cargo or itinerary. Later on, troopers consensually searched the vehicle, seized three (3) rolling duffel bags containing approximately seventy-four (74) kilograms of suspected cocaine and arrested both occupants.
SARANTE later admitted that he was hired to travel from the Bronx Borough, of New York City, to Baytown, TX, to pick up a load of narcotics and transport them to Newark, NJ. SARANTE also admitted that he was going to be paid $1,000.00 per kilogram, once he delivered the drugs to Newark.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: