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Major Marijuana Kingpin Busted on Staten Island
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 3, 2010
Modified Jun 3, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 3, 2010
Modified Jun 3, 2010
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A marijuana kingpin who ran an international pot-smuggling operation between the U.S. and Canada is in custody after feds raided the Staten Island home where he lived with his Orthodox Jewish parents. Jonathan Braun, 27, was allegedly in charge of importing 110 tons of pot into the U.S. through an Indian reservation on the Canadian border. During the raid, DEA agents seized about $30,000 in cash wrapped in rubber bands, drug ledgers for "hundreds" of marijuana shipments, and 16 cell phones and BlackBerries, the Staten Island Advance reports.
Now the feds have text messages sent to Braun from his enemies; one reads: "You deserve to get locked in a cage like the animal you are...[your] family will be proud of [their] son...your money is not going to be worth dick." Braun, who was on the lam in Israel last year, has pleaded not-guilty to a .litany of drug charges. If convicted, he potentially faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life. "He's the real deal," one law enforcement source tells the Daily News. "He's huge." See, just because you live with your parents doesn't mean you can't accomplish big things!
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Jonathan Braun
marijuana
pot
staten island
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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