Rochester Man Sentenced on Drug Charges

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that Joseph Schmidt, 31, of Rochester, N.Y., who was convicted of  conspiracy to distribute 700 to 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, was sentenced to 97 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas E. Gregory, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant and six co-defendants were arrested in January 2013. Schmidt the other defendants distributed significant quantities of marijuana which was obtained from various sources, including the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the Northern District of New York.  The defendant also maintained sophisticated indoor marijuana grow operations at 48 Crystal Valley Overlook, in Henrietta, N.Y., and 598 Culver Parkway, in Rochester, both of which were searched by police in July 2011. Schmidt will forfeit the Henrietta home, as well as cash proceeds and nine firearms. Schmidt is the first defendant to be sentenced for his role in the drug conspiracy.

            The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and investigators with the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Shepard, along with members of the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (GRANET), under the direction of Lt. Gerald Smith of the Rochester Police Department.