California Man Pleads Guilty to Nationwide Marijuana Trafficking Conspiracy

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Sammy Olague, age 36, of Clovis, California, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute marijuana. 

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf; and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

Olague admitted that he was a member of a marijuana-trafficking organization that shipped marijuana from Fresno, California, to locations through the United States, including the Capital Region, between 2016 and February 2020.  The marijuana was shipped through UPS and FedEx from a shipping store, Fast Pack & Ship, in Fresno.  The defendant owned and operated Fast Pack & Ship from 2016 through June 2018, when he sold the business to Nehemiah Fane, aka “Neil.”  A portion of the purchase money was paid in cash by Dwight A. Singletary II, aka “Nutt” and “Mike Jones,” whom the defendant called “New York.” 

Before selling Fast Pack & Ship, Olague shipped approximately 86 kilograms (189 pounds) of marijuana from Fast Pack & Ship to Ruskin, Florida.  He also shipped marijuana to, among other locations, the Capital Region and New York City for Singletary. 

Between April 2016 and May 2018, Olague shipped at least 104 packages—55 of which contained over 340 kilograms (750 pounds) of marijuana—from Fast Pack & Ship to the Capital Region.  In the same period, he received money transfers from and cash, cashier’s checks, and money order deposits into his bank accounts in the Capital Region.  As payment for marijuana from Singletary, in May 2018, McKenzie Merrialice Coles, aka “Kenzie,” sent a $1,650 money transfer from the Capital Region to Olague in Fresno; in July and August 2018, three $5,000 cashier’s checks purchased by Isiah Ti-Quan Clements, aka “Zay,” were deposited into Olague’s bank account at a bank in the Capital Region. 

After selling Fast Pack & Ship to Fane, between July 2018 and February 2020, Olague shipped at least 30 packages containing approximately 56 kilograms (123 pounds) of marijuana from Fast Pack & Ship to Ruskin. 

Olague was charged in an indictment with Singletary, Coles, Fane, Clements, and 19 other people charging marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other crimes.  Singletary, Coles, Fane, and Clements have pled not guilty, and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.

Olague faces at least 5 years and up to 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million at sentencing.  He will also be required to serve at least 4 years and up to a lifetime term of supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The ATF, DEA, Troy Police Department and HSI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyrus P.W. Rieck and Dustin C. Segovia are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is 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.