A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of a former aide to Sen. Thad Cochran after attorneys agreed to give him another chance to divulge information on a drug conspiracy case that involved shipments of methamphetamine to the aide’s home.
Fred W. Pagan, a personal assistant to the Mississippi Republican, appeared in U.S. District Court in Washington on Friday before Judge Beryl A. Howell. Cochran also attended. Pagan’s attorney, Kobie Flowers, requested that the Senator be allowed to speak in Pagan’s behalf, but the hearing was adjourned before Cochran was allowed to do so.  

Howell agreed during the sentencing to delay the decision, despite at one point saying Pagan’s last-ditch effort to offer the debriefing came “too little and too late.”  

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Pearlman told the judge he has asked to speak with Pagan directly multiple times, but that he has only heard from the aide’s attorney.  

Pearlman said the government would be willing to give Pagan another chance to talk about what he knew about drug suppliers who were shipping packages of methamphetamine from California to the District, including several packages sent to Pagan’s home in Northwest D.C. Attorneys disagree on whether Pagan withheld information when being interviewed by federal agents who searched his home on April 23.  

Pagan was arrested after authorities intercepted a package of another drug — 1.1 kilograms of gamma-Butyrolactone, or GBL — bound for the aide’s home. During their search of his home, agents found nearly 130 grams of methamphetamine under his bed.  

Pagan told authorities he would share drugs in exchange for sex with other men in the District.  

Pagan, a Michigan native, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The charge relating to GBL was dismissed.  

No other cases against individuals with connections to Pagan’s case have been filed. U.S. Attorney Spokesman Bill Miller told Roll Call investigations into the drug activity continues.  

Pagan’s attorney had asked for three years’ probation. In court filings, attorneys described Pagan not as a violent offender but “an undisputed methamphetamine addict” who needed drug treatment, not jail time.  

Contact Rahman at remarahman@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @remawriter.
Related:

Ex Cochran Aide Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy


Former Cochran Staffer Hopes for Plea Deal in Sex-for-Drugs Case


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