Long Time Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison

justiceIn Anchorage, a long-time drug trafficker was sentenced in federal court by Chief Judge Ralph R. Beistline of the Alaska U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison it was revealed today by U.S. Department of Justice Attorney Karen L. Loeffler.

Steven Nicholas Taylor, also known as “Nicky” or “Louie V,” age 44, was sentenced on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering on Monday according to the DOJ release.After serving his sentence of 15 years in the Alaska case, Taylor is ordered to serve an additional five years of supervised release. He is also ordered to forfeit and abandon any interest in his Seattle home, that he was attempting to sell to finance future drug activities.

Taylor admitted in court to trafficking between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine in the state of Alaska.

In court documents, it was revealed that “Taylor and his accomplices were major sources of supply for cocaine in Alaska going back 20 years. In the late 1990’s, Taylor was charged in Seattle as being part of a continuing criminal enterprise that supplied drugs to Alaska as early as 1991. In that case, Taylor was convicted of drug conspiracy, money laundering, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and served 121 months in federal prison.”

Soon after his release from his Washington court ordered supervised release following his sentence, Taylor picked up where he left off and resumed drug trafficking with many of his same old accomplices, supplying people in Missouri and Alaska with cocaine. 

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During the investigation leading to his conviction on drug trafficking and laundering charges, Taylor was caught on wiretaps in hundreds of conversations with his co-conspirators discussing drug trafficking. In some conversations, Taylor let known his concerns about the outcome of Terrence Fleming’s case. Fleming was supplied 15 kilos of cocaine by Taylor. That cocaine was seized by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Judge Beistline said during sentencing, that Taylor was a “drug trafficking aficionado,” and “knew the consequences of drug dealing,” but that did not deter him and he still “chose to victimize society.”

Attorneys pointed out that “Taylor also directed and instructed his co-conspirators on money laundering. The purpose of the money laundering was the continuation of Taylor’s drug conspiracy operation, from which Taylor was the primary beneficiary.”

Taylor’s co-defendants in the case received the following sentences:

  •  James Brown, Sr., 56 months
  •  Leonard D. Charles, 60 months
  •  Etienne Q. Devoe, 126 months
  •  Shawn Cortez Cloyd, 36 months
  •  Timothy W. Northcutt, 72 months
  •  Joshua J. Haynes, 30 months
  •  Gabrielle P. Haynes, 18 months
  •  Joseph E. Irving, 21 months

In a separate, but related case in the Eastern District of Missouri, Taylor was also sentenced for his drug activities in that state.

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