Laconia Man Sentenced to 39 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking

CONCORD - James Cunningham, 61, of Laconia, was sentenced in federal court to serve 39 months in prison for methamphetamine trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Cunningham, a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, sold quantities of methamphetamine on four separate occasions in 2013 to an individual who was cooperating with the FBI.   Three of the drug transactions took place in Manchester and one occurred in Merrimack.

Cunningham, who pleaded guilty on January 25, 2018, will be on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.  He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

“Drug trafficking crimes cause tremendous damage to our community,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In addition to the terrible problems of overdoses and addiction, drug trafficking often is associated with violence and can jeopardize the safety of the citizens living in the Granite State.  We continue to work each day with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute drug traffickers so that we can decrease violence and improve the quality of life in New Hampshire.”

“Today, Mr. Cunningham, a member of the notorious Hells Angel biker gang, will begin paying the price for the irreparable harm that his drug trafficking caused within our communities,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division.  “The FBI NH Safe Streets Gang Task Force will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to do everything we can to rid our neighborhoods of illegal narcotics and the violence that comes along with it.”

This matter was investigated by the FBI New Hampshire Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which is comprised of the FBI, the New Hampshire State Police, New Hampshire Probation and Parole, and the Police Departments of Hudson, Manchester, and Nashua.  Assistance was provided by the Laconia Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Kelbley.

This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.