A Syracuse man has pleaded guilty to his role in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy involving the synthetic drug ‘Molly.’
William Harper, 54, of Syracuse, NY, appeared before U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby and admitted to conspiring to distribute 4-Methylmethcathinone (4-MMC) and 4-Methyl-NEthylcathinone (4-MEC), often referred to as ‘Molly.’
Harper also pleaded guilty to money laundering, a federal felony, in admitting that he wired $2,700 from a Bank of America account in the name of Orange Line Gallery, Ltd. to CEC Limited, in Shanghai, China to pay for a quantity of ‘Molly.’
Harper faces a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, up to a $1 million fine, and at least three years of supervised release following any period of incarceration. Sentencings are scheduled for August, 2013.
The prosecution of Harper resulted from an investigation first undertaken in the spring of 2009 by the Syracuse Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the Syracuse Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, the New York State Police, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
The investigation revealed that this ‘Molly’ trafficking organization was responsible for the distribution of over 100 kilograms of ‘Molly’ during the course of the conspiracy from January 2010 through April 2011. The ‘Molly,’ believed to be manufactured in factories in China, was shipped to distributors in the Syracuse area, as well as other areas in the United States.
Harper’s guilty plea brings the number of defendants entering guilty pleas to 16. Five remaining defendants are scheduled to go on trial on April 29th in Syracuse. One defendant, Lei Zhang, a.k.a., Eric Chang, remains a fugitive.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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