Rock-slinging McLaughlin counselor gets 10 years

Edward Jamal Mason was a youth counselor at McLaughlin Youth Center in Anchorage when he sold crack cocaine to an undercover FBI agent, according to a U.S. Attorney press release.

And he did it four times, selling the agent a total of 124 grams. According to an Anchorage Police Department spokesperson, crack sells for between $100 and $200 a gram, meaning Mason could have netted between $12,400 and $24,800.

On Monday the 31-year-old Mason was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, the minimum sentence he could have received.

McLaughlin, a correctional center for minors, also includes an Anchorage public school. Selling drugs near a school can carry stiffer penalties.

Two of the crack sales happened in McLaughlin's parking lot while Mason was working there. During their investigation the FBI made audio recordings of Mason setting up the sales and of the sales themselves. One of the handoffs was also captured on video.

Prosecutor Erin White said Mason's case is unusual because he had a good job. Most of the drug dealers she prosecutes are destitute with no way of making money, she said.

"I suspect that he wanted a higher lifestyle than the one his job afforded him," White said.

White also said that during his court dates Mason was apologetic and polite to the court, and that he acknowledged it was ironic that he was supposed to be helping people who were in trouble but had ended up in trouble himself.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.