Brian Douglas Smith, Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises, Missouri 2022

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A shocking case of corruption in the heartland of America has come to light as the owner of a local burger joint pleaded guilty to allowing his restaurant to be used as a hub for drug traffickers.

Brian Douglas Smith, 45, the owner of Rockstar Burgers in Kansas City, MO, admitted to maintaining a drug-involved premises, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

According to court documents, Smith made the building in the city's West Bottoms, which housed Rockstar Burgers, his part-time residence, a loft, and associated spaces, available to a drug-trafficking organization.

The organization, which distributed over 150 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 10 kilograms of heroin valued at over $1.7 million, used the building to store and distribute the illicit substances, collect payments, and possess firearms.

Smith's role in the conspiracy was limited to maintaining the building premises for the drug-trafficking organization's use.

Two co-defendants, Matthew John Fabulae and Amy Leann Nieman, have already been sentenced to 15 years and nine years in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Smith will recommend a $15,000 fine in lieu of a money judgment or other financial assessments or forfeitures.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades, Robert Smith, Maureen Brackett, and Byron Black, and was investigated by the Springfield and Kansas City, MO, Police Departments, the DEA, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Clay County, MO, Sheriff's Department.

This case is part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which conducts comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

The OCDETF program is the centerpiece of the federal government's drug supply reduction strategy and has been in operation since 1982.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/owner-rockstar-burgers-pleads-guilty-making-restaurant-available-drug-traffickers-17