Something smelled.
A former New York City sanitation worker faces federal drug-trafficking charges after he was caught allegedly transporting 8.8 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana, and nearly $21,000 by a state trooper making a routine traffic stop in Kansas.
John Mignano, of Brooklyn, was driving through farmland when the cop clocked his GMC Yukon Denali at 78 mph in a 70-mph zone.
Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper R.M. Wolting said when he asked Mignano for his license, he saw “numerous” pine-tree air fresheners hanging from the turn-signal lever.
The deodorizers made him suspicious, because they’re sometimes used to mask the odor of drugs in a car, Wolting said, recounting the 2009 bust in Brooklyn federal court last month.
The trooper said he then saw Mignano’s mother-in-law, Maria Maresca, allegedly stuff a small bag of marijuana and a pipe down her blouse.
Mignano’s wife, Tina Rintrona, and a female friend were in the back seat of the SUV.
After receiving permission, troopers searched the car and found the drugs and a red pillowcase stuffed with cash.
Mignano is not in Kansas anymore — he is awaiting trial in Brooklyn on charges of distributing cocaine and more than 220 pounds of marijuana between March 2008 and July 2009.
Rintrona and Maresca face similar charges. All three have pleaded not guilty.