Head of drug ring pleads guilty Rotterdam man receives 14-year prison sentence BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.
The man accused of heading a regional drug operation broken up in June, a bust that netted $1.7 million in drugs, pleaded guilty to a high-level felony Friday. Walter Smiley, 35, of Broadway, Rotterdam, admitted in Schenectady County Court to one count of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. In exchange for his plea, he will be sentenced to 14 years in state prison. Smiley attorney Cheryl Coleman said after the plea that Smiley considered his options and they looked grim. He admitted to possessing a large amount of drugs March 2, bringing them from the Bronx to Schenectady, Coleman said. He had faced as much as 75 years in prison if convicted of all counts. The proof, she said, consisted largely of wiretap recordings, which would have been difficult to defend at a trial. Smiley was one of 20 people swept up in June in a case prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s office. The case was the second large drug sweep in a month. The other ring was reportedly headed by Kerry Kirkem and Oscar Mora. It included the high profile names Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek, the former Schenectady police chief and his wife. Smiley was accused of heading the Schenectady operation, which also extended into Montgomery County, supplying drugs there, authorities said. Smiley was first arrested April 11 after a police raid on his home, located just outside the Schenectady city limits. Smiley faced 14 counts in two separate indictments, including top-level drug possession and sale counts. Authorities simultaneously raided the Albany residence of Jawon DiCarlo, 28, of Pinehurst Avenue. DiCarlo allegedly ran the Albany operation. DiCarlo has since pleaded guilty to similar charges and is to receive 10 years in state prison. All but three of the 20 charged have since taken deals. The investigation began about five months earlier with information gathered by the Watervliet police about prescription drug sales in that city. From there, state police CNET got involved, making more street level buys. With additional information came a wiretap warrant. Beginning in February, authorities began ..........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01002
Wow...Smiley gets 14 years and Lisa Kaczmarek, the former Schenectady police chief and his wife got 'what'????
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Logged
