The
charges stem from an investigation by the
New Jersey State Police, Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
and Arizona Department of Public Safety.
A fourth defendant, James McKoy, 50, of
Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to the same
charges and was sentenced on Nov. 18 by
Judge Wigler to 12 years in prison, including
five years without parole.
The
final defendant, Roy Winston Harte, 52,
of Irvington, is scheduled to be sentenced
on Dec. 20 by Judge Wigler. Harte was convicted
on Oct. 7 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. He 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
imposed.
Deputy
Attorney General Veronica Allende tried
Harte for the state and handled today’s
sentencing hearing for the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
A
June 29, 2010 superseding indictment charged
Harte and the four co-defendants with conspiring
in 2007 to ship about 513 pounds of marijuana,
worth approximately $1 million, via UPS
and FedEx from Arizona to a business address
in Fairfield, Essex County, N.J., where
Harte worked as a production manager.
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 Attorney General
Allende presented the superseding indictment
to the state grand jury and prosecuted the
cases with Deputy Attorney General Christopher
Romanyshyn 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. Special
Agent Brian Mix of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration and Detective Charles Zampino
of the Fairfield (N.J.) Township Police
Department also provided critical assistance.
