BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson has sentenced VINCENT SALZANO, age 57, and ARMANDO SALZANO, age 33, both of Denver, Colorado, to lengthy prison terms for their roles in attempting to transport more than seventy (70) pounds of cocaine through Baton Rouge on a private aircraft.
VINCENT SALZANO was sentenced to serve sixty (60) months in federal prison following his conviction earlier this year for possession with the intent to distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). VINCENT SALZANO was also ordered to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his release from imprisonment and pay a $5,000 fine. ARMANDO SALZANO was sentenced to serve forty-eight (48) months in federal prison, to be followed by a 2-year term of supervised release. ARMANDO SALZANO was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine. The defendants were ordered to forfeit any and all property used to commit the offense.
Today’s sentences follow the defendants’ arrests in October of 2013 at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. On October 7, 2013, the defendants met and boarded a private plane, which VINCENT SALZANO controlled, which had been flown to Atlanta, Georgia at his direction. The following day, the defendants flew from Atlanta to the McAllen, Texas area, where they deplaned, left the airport, and obtained approximately 30 packaged bundles of cocaine. The defendants then re-boarded the plane, carrying the cocaine and intending to travel back to Atlanta. The plane stopped in Baton Rouge for fuel, at which point the SALZANOS were contacted by law enforcement agents and arrested. Both defendants pled guilty earlier this year.
The investigation is being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Louisiana State Police, with assistance from the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other law enforcement agencies. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alan A. Stevens and James P. Thompson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
