Bermudian construction boss Rudolph Travers Clarke has been jailed for more than seven years in the United States for his part in a $3.9 million heroin importation plot.Prosecutors had suggested he should have been locked up for up to 15 years. They said he deserved a tough sentence because he paid and directed his Bermudian co-defendant, Kyle John, to carry the drugs into the States.However, his lawyer said he deserved less, arguing that John lied when he claimed Clarke was the brains behind the operation.Clarke, 41, of Southampton and John, 53, of Hamilton Parish, were arrested at John F Kennedy Airport in New York in January 2011 as they tried to make their way from St Maarten to Bermuda.According to court documents, customs officers stopped John and searched his bags, and discovered a false bottom in his suitcase. They found the heroin, which weighed 1.2 kilograms, when they opened it up.That amount of the drug has a street value of approximately $3,952,000 if sold in individual “decks” on the streets of Bermuda.John told a Homeland Security official after his arrest that Clarke gave him the bag of drugs, and he agreed to carry it in return for a payment of $10,000 at the end of the trip.The men were charged at the United States Eastern District Court of New York and pleaded guilty during earlier hearings.During his plea hearing, John told a judge he received treatment for cocaine abuse during 2010. He also stated: “I knew I was carrying drugs but I didn’t know what type of drugs.”He is due to be sentenced in July.Clarke, who owned Unique Builders of Scaur Lane, Sandys, was sentenced to 87 months in prison on Tuesday, and fined $5,000. The time he has spent in custody since his arrest will be taken into account.Clarke’s lawyer, Joseph Corozzo Jr, told The Royal Gazette yesterday that John breached his agreement with the Government to cooperate in the case.“Kyle John, who might very well have been the organiser and leader of the transaction, was found to have lied and violated his agreement,” he said, explaining that resulted in a lower sentence than originally suggested by prosecutors.However, he said: “Because my client decided to join with Mr John he had to be punished.”Asked how Clarke and his family feel about the sentence, Mr Corozzo replied: “They feel the sentence was too harsh for someone like Mr Clarke who was a very important part of his community, active in his church and active in business; a very kind-hearted person led into this by nefarious individuals.”According to the lawyer, Clarke used to employ up to 30 people in his role as a construction boss. A number of members of the Bermuda community gave character references before the defendant was sentenced.One of them was his neighbour Anita Masters, who is a justice of the peace. She said in a letter to the court that she has known the defendant, who she calls Travers, for 30 years.“The Clarke-Bean family moved next to us for over three decades. Their son played with our son on many occasions before ours died of a childhood illness,” she wrote.“Travers and his family have always been well mannered caring people. We never had any problems or concerns and are pleased to be able to provide a character reference for him with absolutely no hesitation.”According to the US Bureau of Prisons website, Clarke was being kept yesterday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.His lawyer said he is likely to serve the rest of his sentence in a low-security prison in the Southern United States in order to be as close as possible to his family. After that, he will be deported to Bermuda.