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NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on Wednesday June 30, 2021, Jeffrey Gitte, age 24, a resident of New York, pled guilty to two counts of the Indictment filed against him, in which he was charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B) and with attempting to escape from federal custody, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 751.

According to court documents, Gitte and his co-conspirators transported approximately 10 kilograms of suspected cocaine from New York to New Orleans in an effort to sell the drugs to an individual, who happened to be a DEA informant, in return for $350,000.  As it turned out, most of the drugs were fake, and Gitte and his co-conspirators tried to rip off the informant by supplying him with fake drugs in return for the $350,000.  After being arrested by DEA agents, Gitte and one of his co-conspirators were able to get out of their cells and tried to escape.  They were re-captured a short time later.

United States District Court Judge Sarah Vance will sentence Gitte on November 17, 2021. For the drug trafficking violation, Gitte faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000,000, a period of supervised release of at least 4 years, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.  For the escape violation he faces a sentence of not more than 5 years, a fine of not more than $250,000, a period of supervised release of not more than 3 years and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  This case is being prosecuted by United States Attorney Maurice Landrieu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.