Updated at 6:46 p.m., Monday, June 25, 2007
Lahaina drug trafficker given 97 months in prison
Advertiser Staff
A Maui man convicted in February for conspiring to distribute and attempting to possess with intent to distribute cocaine was sentenced today to 97 months imprisonment by federal judge Susan Oki Mollway.Basho Elliot was found guilty of arranging to have a FedEx parcel containing 2,000 grams of cocaine sent to co-conspirator John Meston in May 2003. Elliot and Meston were arrested after Meston delivered the parcel to Elliot's Lahaina home.
In May 2004, a mistrial was declared when it was discovered a key defense witness had been represented by Elliot's attorney in another drug-trafficking case. The Ninth Circuit affirmed Mollway's decision to declare a mistrial due to the defense attorney's conflict of interest.
In imposing sentence, Mollway found that Elliot had engaged in obstruction of justice by suborning the testimony of two witnesses. His sentence was enhanced based on his supervisory role of Meston.
