Cop: Brooklyn Drug Smuggler Smelled Too Fresh

(wikicommons)

When driving with drugs, don't overdo it with the air fresheners! That seems to be the moral of the story of ex-Sanitation worker John Mignano, who was caught allegedly transporting 8.8 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana, and nearly $21,000 in cash at a traffic stop in Kansas. Mignano would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for his penchent for air fresheners, the Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper who busted him recently recounted in Brooklyn federal court.

The trooper testified that he became suspicious of the routine 2009 speeding stop (Mignano was doing 78 in a 70 zone) when he noticed "numerous" pine-tree air fresheners hanging on the turn-signal lever. Apparently overdoing it with the deodorant is a common drug smuggling trick.

When the trooper noticed Mignano's mother-in-law stick a pipe down her blouse, he searched the GMC Yukon Denali and found the contraband. Mignano, his wife (who was also in the car) and his mother-in-law are all now facing charges in Brooklyn of distributing cocaine and marijuana.