Cocaine distribution alleged against 18th and Vine restaurant owner
The owner of a restaurant in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine Jazz District has been charged with distributing large amounts of cocaine.
Paul Danny Gosserand, owner of Danny’s Big Easy, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Gosserand, 57, of Kansas City, Kan., also was charged with possessing two firearms as part of a drug trafficking crime.
The charges stem from a 2011 investigation in which undercover agents allegedly bought multiple kilogram amounts of cocaine from Gosserand and his former wife, Jean Stephens, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
Stephens, 64, pleaded guilty in November to cocaine distribution. She is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
According to her plea agreement, a confidential informant working with federal agents met with Gosserand and Stephens at the restaurant to arrange the purchase of drugs.
Agents later served a search warrant of Stephens’ home and recovered more than 2 kilograms of cocaine, about $20,000 and gold coins worth about $15,000, according to the court documents.
Tony Rizzo: 816-234-4435, @trizzkc
This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 8:31 AM with the headline "Cocaine distribution alleged against 18th and Vine restaurant owner."