Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Victor D. Rome, 39, from the Pensacola area, was sentenced in federal court today on drug trafficking conspiracy charges.  Rome was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers to 280 months’ imprisonment and 10 years of supervision upon his release.  The sentence was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Rome’s indictment was part of a continuing investigation into a large scale distribution network that involved the transportation of cocaine from Texas into the Northern District of Florida.  Rome’s co-conspirators Coneil T. Wilkins and Ricky L. Blankenship were sentenced last year.  On February 13, 2014, Wilkins was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Lacey A. Collier to 35 years in federal prison for his role in the distribution of approximately $20 million worth of cocaine in Pensacola.  On May 15, 2014, Blankenship was sentenced by Judge Collier to life imprisonment for related drug trafficking offenses.

United States Attorney Marsh praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department, and the State Attorney's Office for the 1st Judicial Circuit, whose joint investigation led to the indictments in these cases.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.

“I commend our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners for their commitment to public service and community safety,” said United States Attorney Marsh.  “This teamwork has resulted in the dismantling of a multi-year criminal conspiracy and demonstrates how the collaboration of all levels of government helps to protect the Northern District of Florida from dangerous drugs.”

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States.  To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

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