James Mack Sentenced in $3M Marijuana Mail Conspiracy

James Mack, 38, of Westminster, Colorado, is headed to federal prison for five years without parole after being sentenced in Kansas City, Mo., for running a $3 million marijuana trafficking operation that shipped pounds of weed through the U.S. mail. The scheme flooded the Kansas City area with high-grade product while deliberately skirting financial reporting laws to hide the cash flow.

Mack admitted in court on Aug. 18, 2017, that he orchestrated a steady stream of drug shipments from Colorado to Kansas co-conspirator Justin Polson, 29, of Overland Park, Kan. Using five-gallon plastic buckets—each packed with roughly three pounds of marijuana—Mack sent between two and six buckets per week from September 2012 through May 2014. By mid-2014, the volume exploded to 40 pounds per month, funneled through the postal system like routine parcels.

The operation wasn’t just bold—it was calculated. Polson paid Mack through a series of bank deposits totaling approximately $3 million, carefully structured in amounts under $10,000 to evade federal reporting requirements. The method, a classic hallmark of money laundering, triggered red flags that eventually led to a multi-agency investigation.

U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs slammed Mack with both prison time and financial penalties, ordering the forfeiture of $1.5 million in illicit proceeds. The ruling strips Mack of half the empire he built shipping drugs across state lines, even as marijuana laws evolve nationwide.

Polson, Mack’s key distributor in the scheme, pleaded guilty to the same charges on Sept. 19, 2017, and is awaiting sentencing. He’s already lost two high-value assets—a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette and a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro LT—surrendered in a related civil forfeiture case, signaling the government’s push to dismantle every piece of the enterprise.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez and investigated by a coalition of federal and local enforcers: Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. The bust underscores how old-school smuggling tactics—like abusing the U.S. mail—still fuel large-scale drug networks in the digital age.

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