PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A Jamaican national was sentenced in federal court to life imprisonment for his conviction on six counts, including violating the federal “Kingpin” statute for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, as well as federal offenses involving cocaine trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Racoco Williams, 43. A Pittsburgh jury found Williams guilty of the six counts in September 2023 following a three-week trial.
Evidence introduced at trial established that Williams, who is originally from Jamaica, was the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed more than 150 kilograms of cocaine between 2012 and 2018. Williams obtained cocaine from near the Southwest border through a base of operations in Phoenix, Arizona. He then arranged to transport the cocaine to various cities on the east coast of the United States, including Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; New York City; and Pittsburgh.
Although he relied on a variety of methods for transporting bulk cocaine, he regularly used young women—including a 16-year-old—as couriers, directing them to travel by bus or on domestic airlines with checked luggage filled with drugs. Williams then used many of these same women, who often faced dire financial circumstances, to transport cash proceeds of his cocaine trafficking back to Phoenix concealed in secret compartments in suitcases. To ensure the couriers’ obedience, Williams threatened them with violence, including threatening to kill one courier and her entire family if she cooperated with law enforcement.
“Racoco Williams orchestrated a years-long, cross-country drug trafficking and money laundering organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine in various cities throughout the country, including communities in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “Williams stayed behind the scenes, using couriers to transport bulk cocaine and cash to fuel his enterprise, and he maintained obedience through threats of violence, including a threat to kill a courier and her family. This prosecution makes clear yet again that our office and our law enforcement partners, here and across the country, are dedicated to identifying the most dangerous offenders and holding them accountable to the fullest extent of federal law.”
During the conspiracy, Williams was associated with multiple seizures involving large quantities of drugs, cash, and jewelry, with a total of approximately $895,000 in cash seized from Williams and his associates throughout the investigation. In 2012, for example, a search of the home he used for a drug transaction revealed $337,000 in cash concealed in secret compartments in eight suitcases. Although he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal syndicate and received a sentence of two years of probation, Williams’s drug trafficking continued unabated.
In 2014, he was again arrested in Arizona, and a search of two suitcases in his vehicle revealed approximately $160,000 in cash. Evidence at trial further established significant trafficking activity in 2017. In April of that year, a search of an acquaintance’s home in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, uncovered six kilograms of cocaine.
Racoco Williams, 43, is a Jamaican national who was sentenced to life imprisonment for violating the federal Kingpin statute and other federal offenses involving cocaine trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering.
The criminal charges include violating the federal “Kingpin” statute for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, as well as federal offenses involving cocaine trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering.
The city and state where the crime took place is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The exact date of the sentencing is August 6, 2024.
The sentence or outcome is life imprisonment.
The total dollar amount involved in the crime is approximately $895,000 in cash seized from Williams and his associates throughout the investigation.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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