NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, resident was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for bribing mail carriers from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver to him parcels containing marijuana, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Glenn Blackstone, 50, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to an information charging him with one count of giving bribes and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Judge Salas imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2014 to September 2017, Blackstone purchased marijuana from a conspirator, who produced the marijuana in California and shipped it in parcels to New Jersey. On multiple occasions, Blackstone bribed two USPS mail carriers to remove the parcels from the normal delivery stream and deliver them instead to him at various locations in Newark. These parcels had fictitious names and addresses on them and were not addressed directly to Blackstone. After receiving the packages from the mail carriers and paying the bribes, Blackstone then sold the marijuana to others in Newark.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents with the USPS-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings.