LI Man Who Imported Cocaine Under Jet Cockpit Sentenced: Feds

BROOKLYN, NY — A former American Airlines mechanic at John F. Kennedy International Airport was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import and possess cocaine, the United States Department of Justice announced Friday.

Paul Belloisi, 56, of Smithtown, was convicted in May 2023 following a one-week jury trial of all three counts of an indictment charging him with conspiring to possess and import cocaine, and importing cocaine, federal officials said.

On Feb. 4, 2020, American Airlines flight 1349 arrived at JFK Airport’s Terminal 8 from Montego Bay, Jamaica, prosecutors said. The aircraft was selected for a routine search by CBP officers from the JFK Airport Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team, officials said.

The officers found 10 bricks of cocaine weighing 25.56 pounds hidden inside an electronics compartment on the underside of the cockpit, authorities said. The cocaine was replaced with fake bricks and sprayed with a substance that glows when illuminated with a special black light, investigators said.

CBP officers and HSI special agents placed the aircraft under surveillance from a distance, the DOJ said. Shortly before it was scheduled to take off for its next flight, they observed Belloisi drive up and pull himself inside the electronics compartment, prosecutors said.

Belloisi was confronted by law enforcement who saw his gloves glowing under the black light, indicating he handled the fake bricks, officials said. Belloisi was also carrying an empty tool bag, and the lining of his jacket had cutouts sufficiently large enough to hold the bricks, authorities said. The cocaine found in the aircraft had a street value of more than $250K, investigators said.

"This defendant abused his insider position at JFK Airport to help smuggle more than 25 pounds of cocaine into the United States in a highly sensitive electronics compartment of an international aircraft," United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a news release. "This conduct not only furthers the trafficking of drugs that harms our communities, but also poses a serious threat to the security of a vital border crossing in our district and our transportation infrastructure. Today's sentence demonstrates that the government takes these threats very seriously, and those who work in trusted positions at our airports and in other critical industries must know that they face serious consequences for crimes of corruption."

Darren B. McCormack, Homeland Security Investigations New York acting special agent in charge, said Belloisi put his "personal gain" before the aviation industry's safety by importing over 25 pounds of cocaine into the United States.

"His demise should send a message to anyone attempting to exploit the aviation industry: HSI New York and our law enforcement partners are committed to maintain the safety of the U.S. domestic and international transportation infrastructure," McCormack said. "I am proud to stand alongside the Eastern District of New York and CBP in bringing this corrupt ‘inside man’ to justice."