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Nineteen people, including a local business owner, have been convicted of federal charges for their roles in a drug distribution ring that brought more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana from Arizona to Berkshire County over the last two decades.
Thomas Overbaugh, owner of Taconic Valley Trucking in Pittsfield and kingpin of the drug organization, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and the distribution of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
His guilty plea came on Sept. 30, two weeks into his trial in U.S. District Court in Watertown, N.Y.
His longtime companion with whom he lived in Hancock and Stephentown, N.Y., Kimberly Mitchell, 37, also pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.
It is believed that the 41-year-old Overbaugh began the drug organization around 1985 and made at least $7 million from the marijuana business until his arrest in 2002, said Massachusetts State Police Lt. Joseph McDyer, who began investigating Overbaugh in the early 1990s.
Much of the money was laundered through Overbaugh's trucking business on East Street, McDyer said. The federal government is now taking action to seize that property.
Overbaugh is jailed without bail pending sentencing on Feb. 9. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison, but could be sentenced up to life and fined up to $4 million.
The case wrapped up Thursday morning when a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against the final defendant, Juan Urias Medina, 41, of Tucson, Ariz., who was the Mexican connection in the operation.
He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms, or over 1 ton, of marijuana.
He was indicted along with Overbaugh last year, but a warrant was outstanding for his arrest until he was caught coming across the Mexican border in May this year, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, who prosecuted the case.
Testimony showed that Medina made frequent trips across the border between Mexico and Arizona and then supplied the No. 2 people in Overbaugh's organization with drugs, Hartunian said.
Kevin Driscoll, 42, his wife, Terry Driscoll, 42, both originally from Berkshire County, and James Womble, 42, now all of Tucson, were the "mules" in the organization, transporting thousands of pounds of marijuana, supplied by Medina, to what authorities described as a "stash house" at 688 Route 20 in New Lebanon, N.Y.
From there, the drugs were broken down into multipound quantities and sold to midlevel dealers in Berkshire County.
"The marijuana was all being sold in Berkshire County," McDyer said. "This is a small county, and this was one organization, but they were pumping thousands of pounds of marijuana every year into Berkshire County."
McDyer described marijuana as the "gateway drug," a socially acceptable drug that leads some users to try more serious drugs.
"We have kids at 10 smoking marijuana. Next thing we know, our young people are dying of heroin overdoses," McDyer said.
Meanwhile, Overbaugh had a race car team in New Lebanon, recreational vehicles, homes and land, and he took costly vacations, McDyer said, "all at the expense of our kids in Berkshire County."
McDyer began investigating Overbaugh's activities in 1990, when it was believed that he was trafficking marijuana and cocaine between New York and Massachusetts, he said.
Because of the size of the operation, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration became involved in 2001, involving agents in Albany, N.Y., and Tucson. They coordinated efforts with the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Unit, the Berkshire County district attorney's office and the Berkshire County Drug Task Force, comprising the Massachusetts State Police Narcotics Unit and units of the Pittsfield, North Adams and Adams police departments and the Berkshire County sheriff's department.
Federal warrants were obtained to install listening devices in the New Lebanon stash house as well as on telephones in a house owned by Overbaugh at 57 Nora Way in Stephentown, McDyer said.
For the last several years, the Stephentown home was occupied by 41-year-old Bernard O'Neil, who was being groomed to take over the marijuana business, he said.
O'Neil was running the marijuana ring, but Overbaugh was receiving "kickbacks" in the form of rent payments for the house, McDyer said.
Meanwhile, Overbaugh and Mitchell rented a home at 5 Babcock Road in Hancock.
Prior to trial, O'Neil pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges related to his role and is also awaiting sentencing.
Both the Nora Way home and the New Lebanon stash house were videotaped 24 hours a day during the investigation, allowing authorities to also identify several of the midlevel dealers in the operation, McDyer said.
As a result, 12 other Berkshire County residents were indicted on federal charges. All have pleaded guilty and some have been sentenced to periods of probation and house arrest. Others are still awaiting sentencing.
The co-defendants are George Fuller, 48, of Hinsdale, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 1 to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and the distribution of marijuana; Shane Powers, 32, of Pittsfield; Charles Smith, 42, of Pittsfield; Francis Rocca, 54, of Pittsfield; Robert Morgan, 36, of North Adams; Patricia DeGroat, 47, of Pittsfield; Steven Fronsman, 40, of Williamstown; Peter Gigliotti, 43, of North Adams; Christopher Cutler, 37, of North Adams; Thomas Lusignan, 36, of Pittsfield; Joshua Gallagher, 25, of North Adams; and Robert Cooney, 41, of Adams.
As part of their guilty pleas, Overbaugh and Mitchell agreed to forfeit proceeds of the marijuana operation, including the Stephentown home.
Authorities have seized, so far, $2.6 million in proceeds, including nearly a half-million dollars in cash that was found at O'Neil's and the Driscolls' residences and the stash house in New Lebanon.
The Driscolls' home, which was built by Overbaugh, was seized, as well as Womble's home, several vehicles owned by the dealers and vintage automobiles and jewelry owned by the Driscolls.
Authorities have also taken roughly 300 acres of land owned by Overbaugh on West Hill Road in New Lebanon, where he reportedly planned to build a large house.
The stash house was rented by the Driscolls from an older couple who were not aware of the drug activity and have not been implicated in any wrongdoing, Hartunian said.
Taconic Valley Trucking and the property on which it is located is still the subject of federal litigation. The business is still being operated, but not by Overbaugh. The impact of the investigation and ensuing arrests is difficult to gauge, McDyer said. Marijuana was harder to come by in Berkshire County for about six months following the arrests, he said.
But the demand for the drug remained strong and dealers eventually found other sources, he said.
And so the investigation continues.
Pubdate: Sat, 04 Oct 2003
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (MA)
Copyright: 2003 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact: letters@berkshireeagle.com
Website: Home | The Berkshire Eagle
Thomas Overbaugh, owner of Taconic Valley Trucking in Pittsfield and kingpin of the drug organization, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and the distribution of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
His guilty plea came on Sept. 30, two weeks into his trial in U.S. District Court in Watertown, N.Y.
His longtime companion with whom he lived in Hancock and Stephentown, N.Y., Kimberly Mitchell, 37, also pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.
It is believed that the 41-year-old Overbaugh began the drug organization around 1985 and made at least $7 million from the marijuana business until his arrest in 2002, said Massachusetts State Police Lt. Joseph McDyer, who began investigating Overbaugh in the early 1990s.
Much of the money was laundered through Overbaugh's trucking business on East Street, McDyer said. The federal government is now taking action to seize that property.
Overbaugh is jailed without bail pending sentencing on Feb. 9. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison, but could be sentenced up to life and fined up to $4 million.
The case wrapped up Thursday morning when a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against the final defendant, Juan Urias Medina, 41, of Tucson, Ariz., who was the Mexican connection in the operation.
He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms, or over 1 ton, of marijuana.
He was indicted along with Overbaugh last year, but a warrant was outstanding for his arrest until he was caught coming across the Mexican border in May this year, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, who prosecuted the case.
Testimony showed that Medina made frequent trips across the border between Mexico and Arizona and then supplied the No. 2 people in Overbaugh's organization with drugs, Hartunian said.
Kevin Driscoll, 42, his wife, Terry Driscoll, 42, both originally from Berkshire County, and James Womble, 42, now all of Tucson, were the "mules" in the organization, transporting thousands of pounds of marijuana, supplied by Medina, to what authorities described as a "stash house" at 688 Route 20 in New Lebanon, N.Y.
From there, the drugs were broken down into multipound quantities and sold to midlevel dealers in Berkshire County.
"The marijuana was all being sold in Berkshire County," McDyer said. "This is a small county, and this was one organization, but they were pumping thousands of pounds of marijuana every year into Berkshire County."
McDyer described marijuana as the "gateway drug," a socially acceptable drug that leads some users to try more serious drugs.
"We have kids at 10 smoking marijuana. Next thing we know, our young people are dying of heroin overdoses," McDyer said.
Meanwhile, Overbaugh had a race car team in New Lebanon, recreational vehicles, homes and land, and he took costly vacations, McDyer said, "all at the expense of our kids in Berkshire County."
McDyer began investigating Overbaugh's activities in 1990, when it was believed that he was trafficking marijuana and cocaine between New York and Massachusetts, he said.
Because of the size of the operation, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration became involved in 2001, involving agents in Albany, N.Y., and Tucson. They coordinated efforts with the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Unit, the Berkshire County district attorney's office and the Berkshire County Drug Task Force, comprising the Massachusetts State Police Narcotics Unit and units of the Pittsfield, North Adams and Adams police departments and the Berkshire County sheriff's department.
Federal warrants were obtained to install listening devices in the New Lebanon stash house as well as on telephones in a house owned by Overbaugh at 57 Nora Way in Stephentown, McDyer said.
For the last several years, the Stephentown home was occupied by 41-year-old Bernard O'Neil, who was being groomed to take over the marijuana business, he said.
O'Neil was running the marijuana ring, but Overbaugh was receiving "kickbacks" in the form of rent payments for the house, McDyer said.
Meanwhile, Overbaugh and Mitchell rented a home at 5 Babcock Road in Hancock.
Prior to trial, O'Neil pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges related to his role and is also awaiting sentencing.
Both the Nora Way home and the New Lebanon stash house were videotaped 24 hours a day during the investigation, allowing authorities to also identify several of the midlevel dealers in the operation, McDyer said.
As a result, 12 other Berkshire County residents were indicted on federal charges. All have pleaded guilty and some have been sentenced to periods of probation and house arrest. Others are still awaiting sentencing.
The co-defendants are George Fuller, 48, of Hinsdale, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 1 to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and the distribution of marijuana; Shane Powers, 32, of Pittsfield; Charles Smith, 42, of Pittsfield; Francis Rocca, 54, of Pittsfield; Robert Morgan, 36, of North Adams; Patricia DeGroat, 47, of Pittsfield; Steven Fronsman, 40, of Williamstown; Peter Gigliotti, 43, of North Adams; Christopher Cutler, 37, of North Adams; Thomas Lusignan, 36, of Pittsfield; Joshua Gallagher, 25, of North Adams; and Robert Cooney, 41, of Adams.
As part of their guilty pleas, Overbaugh and Mitchell agreed to forfeit proceeds of the marijuana operation, including the Stephentown home.
Authorities have seized, so far, $2.6 million in proceeds, including nearly a half-million dollars in cash that was found at O'Neil's and the Driscolls' residences and the stash house in New Lebanon.
The Driscolls' home, which was built by Overbaugh, was seized, as well as Womble's home, several vehicles owned by the dealers and vintage automobiles and jewelry owned by the Driscolls.
Authorities have also taken roughly 300 acres of land owned by Overbaugh on West Hill Road in New Lebanon, where he reportedly planned to build a large house.
The stash house was rented by the Driscolls from an older couple who were not aware of the drug activity and have not been implicated in any wrongdoing, Hartunian said.
Taconic Valley Trucking and the property on which it is located is still the subject of federal litigation. The business is still being operated, but not by Overbaugh. The impact of the investigation and ensuing arrests is difficult to gauge, McDyer said. Marijuana was harder to come by in Berkshire County for about six months following the arrests, he said.
But the demand for the drug remained strong and dealers eventually found other sources, he said.
And so the investigation continues.
Pubdate: Sat, 04 Oct 2003
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (MA)
Copyright: 2003 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact: letters@berkshireeagle.com
Website: Home | The Berkshire Eagle
