Inmate Was At The End Of A 22 Year Sentence When Feds Discovered He Was Trafficking Fentanyl From Prison

PEEKSKILL, NY — On the day an inmate was due to be released, he was arrested an charged with trafficking drugs to a Hudson River town from behind bars,

U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Kerome Lendon Paisley was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring, while already imprisoned, to traffic more than a kilogram of fentanyl. His sentence was imposed in U.S. District Court.

"After serving nearly 22 years in federal prison for a prior narcotics conspiracy, Kerome Paisley was given a chance to reenter society," Clayton said. "Instead, he brazenly chose to traffic more than 10,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills from behind bars, potentially endangering countless New Yorkers. Those who are committed to dealing deadly drugs as a way of life—even from prison—will earn themselves substantial federal prison time."

In February 2025, as part of a brand new narcotics trafficking conspiracy, Paisley used a contraband cellphone to organize the sale of over 10,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills that resembled legitimate 30 mg oxycodone pills. After a co-conspirator of Paisley brought the pills to Peekskill, to sell them, law enforcement officers found and seized them.

At the time, Paisley was approaching the end of a nearly 22-year federal prison sentence for his role in a prior narcotics trafficking conspiracy. Law enforcement officers arrested Paisley on the day he was due to be released from his prior sentence.

In addition to the new prison term, Paisley, 49, of Jamaica, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Clayton praised the investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmi Schickler is in charge of the prosecution.