By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
A former security guard to the stars who protected such celebrities as Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and the late Marvin Gaye, was sentenced Friday in Alexandria, Va. fed court to 9 years in prison for conspiring to distribute oxycodone.
Joseph Emmanuel Mann, 57, of New Carrollton, Md., was convicted of the charges last October.
Authorities said that as part of the conspiracy Mann obtained prescriptions of the drug by wearing disguises, including wigs and hats, and using multiple names and dates of birth.
“By changing his identity, Mann was able to receive high volumes of prescription narcotics on a regular basis from various local pharmacies,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Co-conspirators testified that Mann, when entering a pharmacy to fill a prescription for OxyContin, would act as if he was in a lot of pain and wear neck braces and carry crutches.
During trial, he was seated in a wheel chair even though no witness ever saw him in one before his arrest last July, authorities said.
Mann distributed more than 20,000 OxyContin 80 mg pills during the eight-year conspiracy, many of which were resold by co-conspirators to addicts throughout Northern Virginia. Authorities witnesses at trial said they saw Mann illegally distribute pills near schools, libraries, restaurants, and on the National Mall.
