Taxstone faces the possibility of several years of additional prison time on top of his existing 35-year sentence — this time for overseeing a plot to smuggle contraband into a federal jail.
The podcaster, real name Daryl Campbell, orchestrated the scheme at Brooklyn’s MDC. The plan involved bringing in a rope made up of pieces of paper covered in a synthetic cannabinoid, over 100 strips of a synthetic opoid, approximately 27 bags of marijuana, over 400 cigarettes, two lighters, a scalpel, and a cell-phone charging cord and plug.
Campbell pled guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Provide and Possess Contraband in a Prison last September.
Federal prosecutors, in a newly-filed sentencing memo, are asking for 33 months of prison time for Campbell for the scheme. That time would be added to the podcaster’s existing 35 year sentence for manslaughter in the 2016 killing of Troy Ave’s late bodyguard, Ronald "Banga" McPhatter, at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza.
Taxstone’s attorney Kenneth J. Montgomery, in his own sentencing memo, is asking for 25-30 months for his client, but for that time to be served concurrently with his existing sentence, meaning that Tax wouldn’t serve any additional time behind bars.
The smuggling plan occurred on June 30, 2024. Co-conspirators arrived at the jail, pulled the rope out of a duffel bag, and threw it up towards a recreation deck. Video surveillance cameras then recorded MDC Brooklyn inmates Jonathan Guerrero, Ian Diez, Abel Mora, and Mayovanex Rodriguez attempting to pull the rope inside the building from the deck. Diez was seen pushing a food cart into the deck, followed by Mora carrying a chair and Guerrero following behind.
While standing on top of the objects, Guerrero was seen hanging from the window to pull the rope, which was packed with duct tape and essentially made of the contraband. You can see photos of the rope and its contents below.
After Guerrero attempted for about nine minutes to pull the rope inside through the window, Rodriquez entered the recreation space and climbed onto the window before falling. He and the remaining men scattered, and authorities then discovered the rope.
Just days before the smuggling plan, officers seized a contraband cell phone from a locker assigned to Taxstone. It contained multiple voice recordings from the months prior, planning the operation.
Taxstone will be sentenced in the smuggling case on April 29.
