Five Charged in Capital Region Drug Conspiracy

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Felix Arencibia, age 38, of Amsterdam, New York; Todd Austin, age 64, of Gloversville, New York; Ahmad Burke, age 66, of Albany; Kevisha DuBoise, age 27, of Schenectady, New York; and Christian Mur-Santana, age 28, of Las Vegas, Nevada have been indicted for participating in a drug distribution conspiracy.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement.

As alleged in the indictment and other court papers, between November 2022 and July 2023, the defendants participated in a drug conspiracy led by Arencibia, who received packages of methamphetamine and fentanyl from Mur-Santana through the mail and then distributed those drugs in the Capital Region.  The specific charges, and the maximum and mandatory terms of imprisonment, are set forth below:

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Each of the defendants previously made initial appearances before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.  All were released with conditions pending further proceedings, except for Todd Austin, who was ordered detained following a detention hearing.  

Four other defendants charged as part of this conspiracy have pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and to the distribution of methamphetamine, and are currently scheduled to be sentenced as follows:

• Andrew Deleon, age 27, of Schenectady, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2024.

• Melissa Karwan, age 37, of Schenectady, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16, 2024.

• Flor Arencibia, age 39, of Albany, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5, 2024.

• Stefanie Plass, age 37, of Schenectady, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2024.

The DEA and USPIS are investigating these cases.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashlyn Miranda and Joshua Rosenthal are prosecuting the cases.

These cases are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.