Electric Zoo its return in 2015 after two very tumultuous years that saw the festival get cut short twice. Now it appears the tragedy of 2013 has just about received some closure. The man who sold the bad batch of molly to one festival attendee, Jeffrey Russ, which resulted in his death, has pleaded guilty on one count of conspiring to distribute narcotics.
Patrick Morgan of Buffalo pled guilty after selling "molly" to Russ, which led to his death after he collapsed and tragically passed away at E Zoo in August 2013.
Authorities say Morgan had previously sold pills to other people and one person passed them around.
Morgan had been caught in a sting run by the D.E.A. who recruited one of his friends to text him about the incident.
According to Billboard, prosecutors and Morgan's defense lawyer agreed to a specific sentencing guideline range. That makes it likely he will face less than a year in prison on a charge whose maximum sentence is 20 years.
The third day of Electric Zoo in 2013 was cancelled because of Russ's death as well as that of a woman who fatally overdosed on molly. The festival then rolled out a series of stringent security measures for the 2014 edition, which included drug sniffing dogs, surveillance cameras and a TSA style body search. The third day had to be cut short again, this time due to inclement weather, but there were no deaths.
The festival is attempting to rebrand itself this year, with a "Reimagined, recharged and reenergized" image. The festival organizers are promising that "The transformation is coming." Such statements are very vague, but we will see what happens in the coming months if they keep the current security measures and how they are able to rebuild fan trust in the festival.
