U.S. v. Tankson

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to below-Guidelines, 228-month term of incarceration on heroin distribution charges, that was based, in part, on finding as relevant conduct that defendant was responsible for purchase and sales of at least 30 additional kilograms of heroin. Charged offense attributed 427.1 grams of heroin to defendant, and Dist. Ct. could properly find that defendant’s own voluntary post-arrest statements that he had engaged in over two-year pattern of similar drug purchases/sales were sufficiently reliable to support instant finding on issue of relevant conduct. Moreover, disputed transactions involved same drugs as charged offense, and involved common accomplice, common modus operandi and common high turnover drug trafficking operation.