United States v. Jay W. Wilson

Jay Wilson appeals his conviction and sentence in the federal district court for drug charges related to a conspiracy to import, distribute, and possess MDMA (ecstasy). The district court rejected, prior to trial, Wilson’s claim that the government had promised him complete immunity in return for his cooperation in dismantling the international conspiracy in which he was involved; and at his sentencing, the court denied him credit for acceptance of responsibility. Because the district court’s rulings were free of error, we affirm both Wilson’s conviction and his sentence.

BACKGROUND

The drug conspiracy for which Wilson was convicted came to the attention of the government in May of 2001, when United States Customs agents in Florida discovered that a box of shampoo bottles arriving from Belgium actually contained hundreds of pills. Investigation revealed that the pills were ecstasy and had been shipped by a main player in the conspiracy, Terrance Fischer.

A task force comprised of agents from various law enforcement agencies delivered the intercepted package to its original addressee, the Tan Machine, a tanning salon in Portland, Oregon, a frequent shipping destination in this…