‘King of Pot’ wins St-Pierre’s backing
FORMER UFC CHAMP WRITES LETTER Cournoyer, awaiting sentencing for drug trafficking, is a ‘really good friend’
A Quebec man who is awaiting his sentence in a case in the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to trafficking in massive amounts of marijuana, has support from a pretty heavy hitter.
Jimmy Cournoyer, 34, who has been dubbed The King of Pot by some in the media who have covered his federal case in New York, recently filed his position on his upcoming sentence and it includes a letter of support from Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Georges St-Pierre.
In December, the former mixed martial arts champion announced he was taking an indefinite leave from fighting.
Last year, media in New York reported that Cournoyer led a lavish lifestyle in New York before he was arrested in his current case. The reports claimed Cournoyer moved in celebrity circles that included Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and St-Pierre. The letter, filed as part of a package intended to highlight other aspects of Cournoyer’s life besides drug trafficking, more than confirms his association with the world-famous fighter.
The letter begins: “My name is Georges St-Pierre, world UFC champion. I am writing this letter regarding my really good friend Jimmy Cournoyer.”
St-Pierre goes on to state that the two first met at a restaurant in 2009 and later travelled together to Ibiza, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, for a couple of days.
“We had the time of our life. Jimmy became like a brother to me. We travelled together, we trained together, we were going to restaurants, clubs and having a lot of fun. Jimmy is a very loyal friend who I respect very much.
“I’ve never judged Jimmy. Actually, what he was doing (with) his life wasn’t any of my business. We have a very human relationship; we share the same passions, which is sport fitness and martial arts.”
The letter goes on to mention that St-Pierre has visited Cournoyer twice in jail since his arrest.
“His mental toughness will help him go through this very hard ordeal in his life. Jimmy is a very positive and strong person and I am sure he will learn huge lessons about all that. I am giving a lot of support to Jimmy because he deserves it. I told him last time I visited him that when he comes out of jail, I will have a place for him in my surrounding(s),” St-Pierre wrote.
Cournoyer was supposed to be sentenced Friday, but the prosecution in the U.S. case was recently granted a delay that will push the sentence date back to Aug. 20. As part of his guilty plea, Cournoyer admitted to taking part in a conspiracy that began in 1998 and continued until his arrest in 2012.
During that time, he trafficked in at least 100,000 kilograms of marijuana grown in Canada and smuggled into the U.S. He also dealt in at least 83 kilograms of cocaine and admitted to taking part in money laundering. The prosecution alleged Cournoyer was a well-connected drug dealer who knew several Montreal underworld figures, including Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto (now deceased) and several members of the Matticks Clan who have acted as leaders of the West End Gang.
Cournoyer’s lawyer, Gerald McMahon, filed the defence’s position statement recently and asked the judge to sentence his client to no more than the 20-year mandatory minimum. The prosecution has yet to complete its position statement.
McMahon’s position statement, filed in a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, includes several other letters of support from Cournoyer’s family and friends. They describe him as someone whose life was disrupted by his parents’ breakup while he was a teenager. A summary included as part of the statement describes how Cournoyer, who was born in Laval, was drawn to a life of crime.
He dropped out of high school to help support his family after his father left. He worked odd jobs like installing swimming pools and on an assembly line at a candy factory.
In 2001, when he was 21, Cournoyer was caught in a sting operation where he paid $65,000 to purchase 10,000 ecstasy pills from a man in Toronto who turned out to be an undercover police officer. Three years later, on Nov. 15, 2004, Cournoyer was driving a Porsche Cayenne on Highway 15, in Piedmont, when he lost control of the car and it flipped over. His friend, a passenger, was ejected from the vehicle and died.
Cournoyer ended up serving a sentence that combined the 30-month sentence he received for trying to purchase the ecstasy and a 42-month sentence for reckless driving causing death. The marijuana-smuggling conspiracy he is currently being sentenced for continued while he was serving time in a federal prison in Canada.
A letter from Cournoyer’s brother expresses resentment over what he describes as the media’s exaggerated description of Cournoyer’s wealth and celebrity lifestyle in New York before his arrest. The brother asserts that most of Cournoyer’s drug trafficking was done on credit and that he was never “a badass Mafia superhero.”