TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that an Irvington man was convicted at trial today of participating in a drug ring that shipped more than 500 pounds of marijuana from Arizona to New Jersey using UPS and FedEx. Four other members of the drug ring pleaded guilty on the eve of the trial.

According to Director Taylor, Roy Winston Harte, 52, of Irvington, was convicted by an Essex County jury of three counts of first-degree distribution of marijuana, two counts of first-degree possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, one count of second-degree conspiracy, and one count of third-degree distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school. Harte was convicted following a trial before Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler in Newark. Deputy Attorneys General Veronica Allende and Christopher Romanyshyn tried the case, which stemmed from a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and Arizona Department of Public Safety. Harte faces up to 20 years in state prison on the first-degree charge, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to one-third to one-half of the sentence. Judge Wigler scheduled sentencing for Harte for Nov. 18.

A June 29, 2010 superseding indictment charged Harte and four co-defendants with conspiring in 2007 to ship about 513 pounds of marijuana via UPS and FedEx from Arizona to a business address in Fairfield, Essex County, N.J., where Harte worked as a production manager. All five defendants were scheduled for trial, but each of the other four pleaded guilty on Sept. 22 or 23 to first-degree distribution of marijuana and third-degree distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school. The state will recommend the following sentences under their plea agreements:

“As a result of this verdict and the prior guilty pleas, all five members of this drug ring face lengthy prison terms,” said Attorney General Dow. “Whenever we can disrupt the distribution of major quantities of narcotics and bring those responsible to justice, it is a significant victory for law enforcement. Of course, halting the flow of illicit drugs from the Southwest is particularly critical, and we appreciate the assistance of our investigative partners in Arizona.”

“These drug dealers thought they could escape detection by using major parcel delivery companies to get their marijuana from Arizona to New Jersey, but their scheme was uncovered through the excellent cooperative work of the New Jersey State Police, Arizona Department of Public Safety and New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice,” said Director Taylor. “I commend Deputy Attorneys General Allende and Romanyshyn for their skillful prosecution of this case.”

“This cooperative investigation spanned the country and involved suspects in four states. The suspects may have thought the distance between them would provide some concealment of their illegal activities,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “We sent a message today, if you attempt to bring drugs into New Jersey from anywhere, we will come after you. I thank all our law enforcement partners who assisted in bringing these drug dealers to justice.”

The investigation revealed that on June 27, 2007, Brown and Giddings drove Phillips to a UPS store in Maricopa City, Arizona, where she shipped four packages containing marijuana. One of the packages was mailed to Toronto, Canada, and the others were sent to the business address in Fairfield, N.J., where Harte worked.

On July 3, 2007, Phillips attempted to send an additional four boxes containing marijuana to Harte, again addressed to the business in Fairfield. Two boxes were sent through UPS and two were sent via FedEx. Members of the Arizona Department of Public Safety seized those four boxes. Searches of the boxes revealed approximately 212 pounds of marijuana.

On July 5, 2007, three of the boxes sent on June 27 were delivered to Harte at the business address in Fairfield. Less than two hours after the delivery, McKoy and Harte loaded the boxes into McKoy’s car and McKoy drove away. The vehicle was stopped by the New Jersey State Police at the entrance to Route 46 in Fairfield and troopers arrested McKoy. The boxes in the car contained approximately 125 pounds of marijuana.

Later that day, members of the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking Central and North Units executed a search warrant at Harte’s place of employment in Fairfield and arrested him.

While the arrests were being made in New Jersey, authorities in Arizona executed a search warrant at Phillips’ residence in Maricopa City, Arizona, where they arrested Giddings and Brown. The search yielded approximately 170 pounds of marijuana, packaging material and a scale. Phillips arrived during the search and was also arrested.

On July 6, 2007, an attempt was made to deliver four additional packages from Arizona to the business address in Fairfield where Harte worked, two through UPS and two via FedEx. The packages were seized by the New Jersey State Police and were found to contain an additional 176 pounds of marijuana.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Sgt. 1st Class Mark Primerano, Detective Chris Wright and other members of the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking Central and North Units. Deputy Attorneys General Allende and Romanyshyn presented the superseding indictment to the state grand jury and prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, which is led by Supervising Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades. Members of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, including Detective Scott Dodd, provided critical assistance with the investigation in Arizona. Detective Charles Zampino of the Fairfield Township Police Department also assisted in the investigation.