A Nassau County man was convicted on federal drug charges Tuesday for using his role as an American Airlines mechanic at JFK Airport to smuggle over 25 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a compartment under a plane's cockpit.
A jury convicted Paul Belloisi, 55, of conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to import cocaine and importing cocaine after a weeklong trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced.
He faces up to 20 years behind bars when he's sentenced by United States District Judge Dora Irizarry.
"This corrupt airline mechanic not only abused his position of trust and undermined the security of a vital border crossing in our district, but was also willing to potentially endanger the safety of travelers as well as the community," said Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the EDNY, in a statement.
Prosecutors said U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the JFK Airport Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team chose American Airlines Flight 1349 as part of a "routine search" on Feb. 4, 2020.
CBP officials discovered 10 bricks of cocaine weighing 25.56 pounds, which had a street value of around $285,000 to $320,000, stashed inside the electronics compartment after the plane arrived at Terminal 8 from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The cocaine was swapped with fake bricks in the sting operation and sprayed with a substance that glows when illuminated with a special light, prosecutors said. Investigators witnessed Belloisi drive up to the aircraft and pull himself inside the compartment shortly before it was set to take off for its next flight.
"Belloisi was confronted by law enforcement who observed his gloves glowing under the black light indicating he had handled the fake bricks," the EDNY said in a news release. "Belloisi was also carrying an empty tool bag and the lining of his jacket had cutouts sufficiently large enough to hold the bricks."
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