By A former American Airlines aircraft mechanic has been sentenced to nine years in prison for attempting to smuggle cocaine hidden beneath the cockpit of a flight from Jamaica to New York.
Paul Belloisi, 56, of Smithtown, New York, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry in Brooklyn on Friday. In May 2023, Belloisi was convicted of conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to import cocaine, and importing cocaine.
The case originated from a routine search of American Airlines flight 1349 on February 4, 2020, following its arrival at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport from Montego Bay, Jamaica. Belloisi had been employed as a mechanic with American Airlines at JFK for over two decades.
According to prosecutors, customs officers discovered 10 cocaine bricks weighing 25.6 pounds (11.6 kg) in an electronics compartment beneath the cockpit. The officers replaced the cocaine with fake bricks sprayed with a substance that glows under a special black light.
Belloisi allegedly approached the plane before its scheduled departure and entered the electronics compartment. Law enforcement confronted him and found that his gloves glowed under the black light, indicating he had handled the fake bricks. Prosecutors also stated that Belloisi was carrying an empty tool bag and wore a jacket large enough to conceal the cocaine.
The street value of the intercepted cocaine was estimated at more than $250,000. American Airlines was not implicated in any wrongdoing.
David Cohen, Belloisi’s lawyer from Cohen Forman Barone, stated that his client plans to appeal the conviction. Cohen expressed his view that the sentence was excessive given Belloisi’s personal history and relevant national and district-wide statistics.
On the same day as the sentencing, Judge Irizarry rejected Belloisi’s request for an acquittal. In her decision, she wrote that jurors could reasonably infer beyond a reasonable doubt that Belloisi was aware of the cocaine aboard flight 1349 and “intentionally conspired and aided in its importation.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn commented on the case, stating that Belloisi’s actions posed “a serious threat to the security of a vital border crossing in our district and our transportation infrastructure.”
The case highlights ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking through major transportation hubs and the severe consequences for those involved in such activities, even when employed in positions of trust within the aviation industry.
