(Jamaica Gleaner) Confessed Jamaican gangster Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The sentence was handed down today in the Southern District Court in Lower Manhattan in the United States.
The 43-year-old was facing a maximum sentence of 23 years.
The sentencing of Coke this morning by United States district judge Robert P. Patterson in a New York court, brings to end a chapter in the history of Jamaica, which intrigued and engulfed the entire island state.
Coke’s fall from the undisputed don of the Jamaican underworld to a US felon started in September 2009, with an extradition request from the United States for the man, who was a patron saint to the residents of Tivoli Gardens, a menace to law enforcement officials and a powerful figure to local politicians.
The extradition request led to a protracted dispute between the governments of Jamaica and the US.
The dispute lasted for almost a year and ended with then Prime Minister Bruce Golding acceding to the US request and sending both the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force into Tivoli Gardens to arrest Coke in May 2010.
The ensuing standoff between the armed forces and gunmen resulted in the death of at least 73 persons, one soldier and many unanswered questions.
Coke was not captured in the offensive, but he was held about a month later, allegedly disguised with a woman’s wig, in the company of clergyman Al Miller.
He waived his right to fight his extradition to the US and has been awaiting trial and sentencing since.
