Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Importing Controlled Substance

CONTACT:  Barbara Burns
PHONE:      (716) 843-5817
FAX #:         (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Steven Zepp, 28, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to importing a controlled substance from a foreign country before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who is handling the prosecution of the case, stated that in March of 2017, members of law enforcement intercepted several packages sent from Germany to 116 Frear Drive, in Rochester. The packages contained a substance believed to be 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy. Officers executed a search warrant at the Frear Drive location and seized multiple controlled substances, including additional quantities of MDMA, methamphetamine and marijuana. Officers arrested Zepp, who was residing at the residence, at the scene.    

The plea is a culmination of an investigation on the part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy; the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Delany E. De Leon-Colon; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Richard Allen. 
 
Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.