Ecstasy distributor
sentenced to 5 years

A Honolulu man accused of importing more than 4,000 Ecstasy pills into the United States was ordered to serve five years and three months in federal prison.

Daniel W. Vandervort, 52, formerly of Kalihi Valley, earlier pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to attempting to import the controlled substance MDMA, more commonly known as the mood-enhancing drug Ecstasy, and attempting to possess with intent to distribute.

Federal prosecutors say this is the largest seizure of Ecstasy in the state. The mood-enhancing drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties is often associated with teen dance clubs or "raves."

Vandervort contends he was not the "organizer" of the scheme to import the drugs, but acted merely as an agent between the buyer and the seller in England, his attorney, Sam King Jr., said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara argued that Vandervort was the organizer, citing extensive notes seized from Vandervort's Kula Kolea Place home following his arrest.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway rejected the government's arguments that Vandervort was the organizer but said she wasn't convinced he had told the government everything he knew about the scheme. She ordered Vandervort to serve three years of supervised release once he gets out of prison.

Federal agents arrested Vandervort Nov. 25, 2002, after he accepted and signed for a FedEx package from Great Britain allegedly containing the pills.

British law enforcement were initially alerted to the package after the customs declaration form from Nigel Williams Rare Books was incorrectly filled out. The book store told authorities they had not sent the package.

Authorities opened the package, which was addressed to a Linda Lee at a gymnastics club in Kalihi Valley, and found a hollowed-out book containing the pills. British authorities substituted the pills and sent it to DEA officials here to deliver to the Kula Kolea address where Vandervort lived.