Taxstone Faces Almost Three Additional Year For Directing Jail Smuggling Scheme

Taxstone orchestrated an elaborate contraband smuggling operation inside MDC Brooklyn federal jail on June 30, 2024, and surveillance footage reveals just how desperate the scheme became.

The podcaster and convicted killer directed inmates to fish for drugs and weapons through a gymnasium window using a 50-foot rope dangling from the street below, and the video shows them struggling for nearly 20 minutes to pull it off.

Taxstone, serving 35 years for manslaughter after fatally shooting Troy Ave’s bodyguard, used a cellphone behind bars to send detailed audio instructions to accomplices on the outside, describing the jail’s layout and exactly how long the rope needed to be.

The operation involved four inmates on the inside: Jonathan Guerrero, Ian Diez, Abel Mora, and Mayovanex Rodriguez, who stacked chairs and food carts to create a makeshift tower near the basketball hoop.

Carl Kelly, Taxstone’s outside accomplice, threw the rope from the street while the men inside attempted to hook it and pull in the contraband.

The video shows Guerrero climbing the unstable structure repeatedly, struggling to grab the line while Diez spotted him and Mora acted as lookout, occasionally shooting hoops to avoid suspicion.

Their efforts failed multiple times, with Guerrero and Rodriguez both tumbling from the tower before they abandoned the attempt and scattered the evidence.

When correction officers recovered the rope, they found it packed with synthetic cannabis, over 100 buprenorphine strips, roughly 27 bags of marijuana, more than 400 cigarettes, two lighters, a scalpel, and a cellphone charging cord.

According to the New York Daily News, Taxstone’s meticulous planning included audio recordings where he explained the operation step by step, telling his crew exactly when to drive up and hook the line.

The scheme represents just one example of the chronic smuggling problems plaguing MDC Brooklyn, which has battled violence, horrific conditions, and severe staffing shortages for years.

All participants have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy. Mora received over 11 years in prison for the smuggling plus gang-related shootings, while Guerrero got 2.5 years in federal prison.

Kelly, Diez, and Rodriguez await sentencing, and Taxstone faces additional prison time as prosecutors seek 33 months added to his existing sentence.

Taxstone’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 29, 2026.