Danny of Danny’s Big Easy is going away for a while
Earlier this year, a federal grand jury indicted Paul Danny Gosserand on charges of conspiracy cocaine distribution. Gosserand pleaded guilty in August. Today, he was sentenced, according to the Star.
The charges stem from a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation conducted in 2011, not long after Gosserand moved Danny’s Big Easy, his restaurant and blues venue, to the 18th and Vine District. It was formerly located at 16th and Main, in downtown Kansas City. Gosserand received an “Urban Hero Award” from the Downtown Council of Kansas City, also in 2011.
According to the DEA, Gosserand and his ex-wife, Jean Stephens, regularly sold kilos of cocaine for $32,000, and used the bar as a venue to conduct their illegal business. A confidential informant purchased two kilos from Gosserand and Stephens in May 2011.
According to a Department of Justice release announcing Gosserand’s guilty plea, “On May 17, 2011, a confidential informant entered the restaurant at 2:30 p.m. and discussed purchasing cocaine with Jean Stephens, 63, Gosserand’s ex-wife and an employee of the restaurant. Stephens told the confidential informant the cocaine would cost $32,000 per kilogram and said the cocaine was inside her vehicle because it was too heavy for her to carry inside the restaurant. Stephens met the informant in the parking lot by her vehicle and gave him two kilograms of powder cocaine. Afterward, the informant turned over the cocaine to the agents.
“At 3:54 p.m. the same day, the confidential informant returned to the restaurant and met with Gosserand to discuss the price of the two kilograms of cocaine. Gosserand said he needed the informant to pay for the cocaine, which had been fronted by Stephens, that night. Gosserand said he would be killed if payment was not made and the informant agreed to pay for the cocaine the next day.”
The following day, Stephens’ home was searched, and agents found a briefcase with two more kilos of cocaine; five vacuum-sealed bricks with 2,465 grams of powder cocaine; $24,000 in cash, and another $15,000 in gold coins.
Stephens pleaded guilty last year, and was sentenced to five years of probation in August.
Gosserand’s punishment, handed down today, was considerably harsher. He’s been sentenced to seven years and ten months in federal prison. Fans of Cajun dishes need not fret: Danny’s Big Easy is still open for business. [UPDATE: Actually, it’s now closed.]
