Hip-hop artist Fetty Wap seeks minimum sentence of 5 years in prison for drug charge, court papers show

Hip-hop artist Willie Junior Maxwell II — better known as Fetty Wap — is seeking the minimum five years in prison before his scheduled sentencing on drug charges in Central Islip federal court Wednesday.

Maxwell, 31, who admitted at a plea hearing last August to participating in a scheme to acquire more than 500 grams of cocaine on Long Island and distribute it in New Jersey, faces up to nine years incarceration under federal sentencing guidelines. 

“Mr. Maxwell acknowledges the seriousness of his crime and the impact it has had on the people he loves,” defense attorney Elizabeth Macedonio wrote in her presentencing memo to United States District Court Judge Joanna Seybert. “Three years has passed since this crime was committed and Mr. Maxwell realizes the terrible mistake he made. He is truly sorry for the loss and hurt he has caused.”

But prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office say a sentence within the advisory guidelines of 7¼ to 9 years in prison would be more appropriate.

“Drug trafficking ruins communities, feeds addictions, damages lives, and invites violence,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum May 18. “The seriousness of the defendant’s conduct speaks for itself and deserves a punishment commensurate with that seriousness.”

Maxwell and his co-defendants had been charged with conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and 2020, but Maxwell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine only.

Prosecutors said the “Trap Queen” rapper and his co-defendants used the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey. He was arrested by FBI agents on Oct. 28, 2021, at Citi Field in Queens, where he was scheduled to perform at the Rolling Loud music festival.

Macedonio’s sentencing memo describes Maxwell’s life as a rags-to-riches to crime story: A young man who was bullied in adolescence uses his talents to garner considerable fame, but turns to drug sales to support his growing family and outsized lifestyle when he has no opportunity to perform during the COVID-19 pandemic. The attorney included 20 character reference letters from family, friends and entertainment executives, including Elektra Music Group chairman and CEO Kevin Liles, who called Maxwell one of the most important signings in his record label’s history.

“Willie has unique talents through which, if given an opportunity, he will be able to change the course of his life, as he is currently in the position to continue to capitalize on his significant successes,” Liles wrote. “Given that a recording artist's career is sometimes shortened by changing musical tastes, it is possible that an extended period of incarceration could end this young man's career.”

Other defendants charged in the scheme include former New Jersey Correction Officer Anthony Cyntje of Passaic, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty to a drug and weapons charge and was sentenced to six years in prison. Co-defendants Anthony Leonardi, of Coram, his brother Robert Leonardi of Levittown, Pennsylvania, and Kavaughn Wiggins, 26, of Coram, have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Charges against co-defendant Brian Sullivan, 26, of Lake Grove are still pending.

Maxwell’s plea agreement did not require him to testify against his co-conspirators. He did, however, have his bail revoked after prosecutors said he threatened to kill another man last year.

Maxwell, whose only prior conviction was on a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge for driving a vehicle 105 mph while “impaired by alcohol,” rose to prominence after “Trap Queen,” his debut single, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2015.

In last week’s memo, prosecutors said Maxwell admitted to the probation department that “Trap Queen” was an “ode to a former girlfriend who assisted him in a cocaine base distribution operation in Paterson, New Jersey.”

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.