United States of America v. William Kuduk

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with drug trafficking and hiring gunmen to protect his illegal activities and unemployment wire fraud.

William Kuduk, age 38, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was found responsible for trafficking over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of marijuana from his used car dealership. He also trafficked over five kilograms of cocaine. Kuduk previously pled guilty to drug trafficking charges and a fraud charge.

Between October 2018 and May 2020, Kuduk and his codefendants operated a marijuana smuggling operation out of Fastlane Auto Sales, a used car lot located on Paxton Street in Harrisburg. Kuduk and his codefendants arranged to have his drug source in California mail hundreds of parcels full of marijuana to Harrisburg through the U.S. Mail. In the same way, they regularly mailed tens of thousands of dollars in cash back to the California source. Kuduk and his codefendants used a sophisticated system of GPS tracking devices, which they placed in their parcels, to keep track of their drugs and money. Through this the scheme, over 9,000 thousand pounds of suspected marijuana parcels, worth millions of dollars, were brought to the Harrisburg area. Kuduk and his codefendants used guns, robbery, and kidnapping as tools to keep their criminal operation running. When imposing sentence, Judge Wilson found that Kuduk engaged in dangerous and violent conduct that endangered the community. When thieves stole marijuana from his drug trafficking operation, Kuduk and his fellow traffickers used gunman to try and stop the thefts. Judge Wilson relied upon the evidence introduced in the case, specifically the jury trial for one of Kuduk’s co-defendants.

Kuduk was also sentenced for committing pandemic related unemployment fraud. While he was released awaiting trial for the drug trafficking case, Kuduk submitted a fraudulent application for pandemic relief. He got over $20,000 in pandemic unemployment relief. He was charged with wire fraud for that episode and later pled guilty. When imposing sentence for drug trafficking, weapons, and violence offenses, Judge Wilson also imposed a 10-year sentence for defrauding the United States. Judge Wilson noted as an aggravating factor that Kuduk committed this fraud with his co-defendants in the drug trafficking case while out on release awaiting trial.

One codefendant, Christopher Texidor, was convicted of drug trafficking and violence offenses after a six-day jury trial. Texidor was sentenced to 292 months in prison (just over 24 years). Kuduk’s other codefendants -- Jamie Valenzuela, William Kuduk, Jonathan Cobaugh, Justin Laboy, Jose Laboy, and Julio Arellano -- pled guilty. Codefendant Jamie Valenzuela was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to traffic drugs. Codefendant Jose Laboy was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment on marijuana trafficking and weapons offenses. Codefendant Jonathan Cobaugh was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment for marijuana trafficking and pandemic fraud. Codefendant Julio Arellano was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment for weapons offenses and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking. Codefendant Justin Laboy was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit drug trafficking.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael A. Consiglio and Scott Ford prosecuted the case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 240 months in prison.