‘MISCREANT’

Coke Dealer Known as ‘Mr. Pickles’ Sentenced After Testifying in Mafia-Linked Case

Christopher Kelly was charged in 2018 over his involvement with a drug deal at his Brooklyn nail salon, where cocaine was found covered in Minnie Mouse wrapping paper.

A New York City drug dealer who has referred to himself as “Mr. Pickles” was sentenced to spend three years and five months in prison after aiding in the conviction of a Schenectady businessman, his son, and their mob-connected associate. Christopher Kelly, 56, faced more than 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty to federal drug charges last year. The judge went well under the sentencing guidelines in exchange for Kelly’s cooperation in the Schenectady case, but still reserved some fierce words for him in the courtroom. “The word that comes to mind when I look at you is ‘miscreant,’” she told Kelly, who also owns a nail salon. “I think you are a poster child for moral perversion and moral decay—and that’s probably an understatement.” After being charged in 2018 over his role in a drug ring known to deal cocaine disguised with Minnie Mouse wrapping, Kelly agreed to a plea deal that saw him admit to conspiring to traffic nine kilograms of the drug. He also admitted to delivering six more kilograms directly to businessman Jeffrey Civitello Sr., his son Jeffrey Civitello Jr., and Richard Sinde, a Bonanno crime family associate from New Jersey. Kelly later provided testimony that helped prosecutors convict the trio, whose sentences are pending.