Schenectady Man Sentenced to 132 Months for Cocaine, Marijuana and Firearms Offenses

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeffrey C. Civitello Jr., age 24, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to a total of 132 months and a day in prison for conspiring to traffic more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, and to possessing two firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division, made the announcement.

In previously pleading guilty to marijuana and firearms offenses, Civitello Jr. admitted that from 2019 to 2021, he worked with others to acquire and sell more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. On October 21, 2021, the DEA executed a federal search warrant on Civitello’s penthouse apartment residence in Schenectady.  Investigators located approximately 75 pounds of marijuana, mostly packaged in 1-pound bags, which Civitello Jr. intended to sell.  Additionally, they found $407,545 in cash and a 14-karat Miami Cuban chain, all of which were proceeds of drug trafficking.

In Civitello Jr.’s bedroom, investigators located a loaded Taurus Judge Public Defender revolver and a Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22 rifle loaded with a high-capacity magazine containing numerous .22 caliber rounds, including a round in the chamber. Civitello Jr. admitted that he possessed these firearms to protect himself in the event that someone attempted to enter his apartment and steal his marijuana or his drug proceeds. 

Additionally, Civitello Jr. was found guilty of cocaine offenses following an 8-day trial in April 2023. The trial evidence demonstrated a conspiracy to traffic about 15 kilograms of cocaine in March and April 2021, among Civitello Jr., his father Jeffrey C. Civitello, Sr., and three New York City-area men. Civitello Sr. was sentenced last year to 120 months in prison.

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also imposed on Civitello Jr. a 5-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release. Civitello Jr. has now forfeited the $407,545 in cash found in his safe, as well as the firearms, ammunition and the Miami Cuban chain, and agreed to entry of a $250,000 money judgment against him.

These cases were investigated by the DEA’s Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force, which includes DEA Special Agents and investigators from state and local police agencies, including the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Barnett and Dustin Segovia prosecuted these 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.