Fentanyl Importer/Supplier And Sex Trafficker Sentenced To Life In Prison

Tampa, FL - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Joseph Marion (41, St. Petersburg) to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine; distributing fentanyl; distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury; and possessing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Marion to forfeit the $13,190 that was recovered from his pocket at the time of his arrest, which represented proceeds from his criminal conduct.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, Marion imported fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from China via the U.S. mail. Marion blended and packaged the fentanyl himself and then sold fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine to multiple street dealers, each of whom further distributed those drugs to users. During the trial, one of those street dealers testified that she bought 40-100 bags of fentanyl from Marion each day, every day, for several years. Marion sold between 7.1 and 17.8 kilograms of fentanyl, enough to kill over 70,000 people, to just this one street dealer.

In November 2019, a woman who was with Marion in his apartment snorted Marion's fentanyl, thinking it was heroin, and nearly died. Paramedics arrived at the apartment and saved her life, though she was hospitalized for days afterward.

In addition to importing and selling drugs, Marion also trafficked women for sex. He often recruited women who were addicted to his drugs and then advertised and "managed" them as prostitutes.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.