Lakewood Man Sentenced For Operating A Marijuana Grow Operation

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Donald Rupert, 59, of Lakewood, NY, who was convicted of manufacturing 100 or more marijuana plants, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit $75,000.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who is handling the case, stated that on January 5, 2011, members of the Lakewood Busti Police Department responded to Rupert’s Baker Street Extension residence to check on the welfare of his elderly mother. During the welfare check, the police chief detected an odor of marijuana. During the subsequent execution of a search warrant, officers recovered 227 marijuana plants and $7,000 in cash.  

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Lakewood Busti Police Department, under the direction of Chief John R. Bentley, Jr., the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Joseph Gerace, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of Lieutenant David Bentley, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.