Drugs sneaked into Ohio prison soaked into the pages of JD Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
JD Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” has a storied history as a New York Times bestseller. Annie Wermiel/NY Post
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Vice President JD Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy has worn many labels over the years: a New York Times bestseller, a national introduction to Vance as a so-called “Trump whisperer,” a flashpoint among Appalachian scholars, and even the basis for a Ron Howard film.
Its newest and strangest role came to light in federal court—serving as a vehicle for smuggling drugs into an Ohio prison.
According to prosecutors, Hillbilly Elegy was one of three items that 30-year-old Austin Siebert of Maumee, near Toledo, coated with narcotics before mailing them to the Grafton Correctional Institution disguised as Amazon packages. The other items included a 2019 GRE study guide and a separate sheet of paper.
On Nov. 18, U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent sentenced Siebert to more than 10 years in prison for his involvement in the trafficking scheme.
Siebert was linked to the crime through a recorded conversation with an inmate who was coordinating the shipment. In an ironic twist, Siebert used a book that prominently discusses the devastating toll of drug addiction on Vance’s own family and community.
“Is it Hillbilly?” the inmate asked on the recording.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Siebert responded at first. Then, realizing the reference, he added, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s the book, the book I’m reading. [Expletive] romance novel.”
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