Last Friday, Clarence Anthony Hatton was sentenced to 16 years in prison for smuggling kilos upon kilos of cocaine into Alaska and Michigan and money laundering. “C-Money” (as Hatton known on the streets) was nabbed as the “organizer of the the most prolific cocaine trafficking network ever to be prosecuted in Alaska.”
According to reports, Hatton had been smuggling cocaine into Alaska since 1996 and was identified as the plug in at least four other major cases in Alaska. However, evidence wasn’t strong enough to bring him in, until this most recent case.
Hatton, 46, isn’t the only one to go down in the conspiracy. On March 3, he was arrested along with Michael Vontrell Langdon (a.k.a. “Money Mike”) and Antonio Demetrius Beckwith (a.k.a. “TWIN). Their arrests followed those of Daren D. Cole, Dewane E. Blue and Bryan M. Bledsoe.
The operation was pretty smooth, to be honest. From his home in Las Vegas, Hatton would get his coke from Cali, where he’s from. The cocaine would be sent out through Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Bledsoe would take the packs in, since he had employee credentials which allowed him to bypass security screenings. He would then hand the coke off another conspirator in the men’s bathroom of the secure area, then it would be taken to Alaska or Michigan in carry-on bags. After the drugs were slung in Alaska, Cole,Beckwith and others would send the money back to Hatton, Langdon and others, through the mail or a parcel service, to addresses in Washington State and Nevada.
According to the Department of Justice:
The indictment alleges a total of 27 acts in furtherance of the drug conspiracy, including a sequence of events that occurred on June 1, 2014 when BLEDSOE brought a bag containing 10 kilograms of cocaine that originated with HATTON into the airport. After bypassing security, BLEDSOE met BLUE in a bathroom and provided BLUE with the cocaine. BLUE then met COLE in another bathroom and provided COLE with the cocaine.
As part of his plea agreement, Hatton admitted to conspiring to smuggle 50 kilos into ALaska and Michigan over a three year period. However, according to witness testimony, Hatton’s crew pumped more than 250 birds into Alaska, and over 100 into Michigan using this scheme. With the money, the feds say Hatton copped luxury cars, bet big at casinos and provided for his family. In addition to the 16 years, Hatton was fined $40,000 and forced to forfeit over $700,000 in drug proceeds and his $80,000 Mecedes Benz.
Read here about “Pretty Ricky” Jenifer, the Baltimore kingpin recently sentenced.
