Men sentenced for shipping marijuana through Postal Service

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Department of Justice says two West Virginia men have been sentenced for participating in a distribution scheme that involved shipping about 400 kilograms of marijuana through the U.S. Postal Service from 2013 to 2018.

A news release says 44-year-old James Waylon Molinaro was sentenced to 78 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute. Molinaro’s accomplice, 43-year-old Chris Crookshanks, was sentenced to three years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute.

The release says Molinaro shipped marijuana from California to Huntington, West Virginia, through the Postal Service and paid postal employees, including Crookshanks, to deliver the parcels to him.

Molinaro was caught by State Police with 16 pounds (7 kilograms) of marijuana in his car.

U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart says the USPS’s slogan of “if it fits, it ships” doesn’t apply to illegal drugs.