A Maryland man who worked as a security guard for several famous recording artists was found guilty of oxycodone distribution Friday.
Joseph Emmanuel Mann, 57, of New Carrollton, Md., led an OxyContin ring throughout the D.C. area from 2003 through 2011, authorities said. He was able to obtain large quantities by using various identities, donning wigs and hats and using several names and birth dates to get OxyContin 80 mg pills from multiple pharmacies. Co-conspirators said they saw him wear neck braces and carry crutches into pharmacies, pretending to be in a great deal of pain.
Mann sat in a wheelchair for the duration of the trial though no witnesses ever saw him in a wheelchair prior to his arrest July 12, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Evidence showed Mann sold more than 20,000 pills, distributing them near schools, libraries and restaurants and on the National Mall. Many were resold in northern Virginia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Mann worked as a security guard for several celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and Marvin Gaye. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 27.
UPDATE: Mann was sentenced Friday to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.
