DALLAS – A Dallas-area man who admitted to his role in transporting a substance that was represented to be cocaine on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) was sentenced to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Moniteveti Katoa, a/k/a ‘Vince,’ 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 188 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in January 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute at least five kilograms or more of cocaine.
That superseding indictment charged Moniteveti Katoa, and three others, Funaki Falahola, 34, Molitoni Katoa, 34, and Janelle Isaacs, 42, with the cocaine distribution conspiracy offense. All four defendants have pleaded guilty to the offense. Molitoni Katoa was sentenced last week to 90 months in federal prison.
Funaki Falahola told undercover officers he had family members that could transport controlled substances via commercial airline. He introduced Moniteveti Katoa to agents as his Uncle and family leader. Molitoni Katoa was also introduced as Falahola’s cousin and a person that could smuggle controlled substances into the DFW airport through his job at the cargo area at the DFW airport. Moniteveti Katoa’s wife, Janelle Isaacs, worked for American Airlines.
According to documents filed in the case, the four used their positions of employment at DFW, or contacted a person or persons who had a position or positions of employment at DFW, to bypass security in order to transport kilogram quantities of a substance that was represented to be cocaine, in what they did not know was an undercover law enforcement operation.
Moniteveti Katoa’s sentence is the result of a law enforcement operation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas Police Department and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, in which numerous defendants were arrested on drug distribution conspiracy and related charges outlined in a federal superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas the previous month.
The statutory penalty for the offense is not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a $10 million fine.
Related Federal Cases
- Mario Urbina Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy, United States, 2023 · New York
- Shannell Gosine, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Buffalo NY, 2023 · Tennessee
- Lakeva Shillette Hill, Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy, Texas, 2024 · Ohio
- John N. Lockett III, Crack Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy, OH, 2023 · Ohio
- Sanchez Latson, Conspiracy to Distribute Powder Cocaine, Shreveport… · Louisiana
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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