United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALBANY, N.Y. -   Eric Canori, 33, of Saratoga Springs, New York, was sentenced yesterday, November 27, 2012 by Chief United States District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe, in Albany to 30 months of imprisonment for his role in a marijuana distribution conspiracy, announced Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA), New York Field Division and United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. Canori, who had entered a guilty plea on June 6, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to distribute 100 or more kilograms of marijuana, was also sentenced to four years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. Canori was ordered to report to a designated Bureau of Prisons facility on January 8, 2013.

“Drug trafficking never ends with a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Nothing good comes from doing something bad, especially cross country drug distribution,” DEA SAC Brian R. Crowell stated. “This marijuana drug distribution conspiracy was unraveled and dismantled from coast to coast. Our task forces across the country see to it that traffickers will lose their ill-gotten profits from selling drugs and endangering our communities.” SAC Crowell commended our dedicated task force partners who worked this investigation from the west coast, through the heartland, to our Capital region.

Beginning in or about 2008, Canori was a part of a marijuana distribution conspiracy that involved the cross-country trafficking of marijuana from the West Coast to various destinations on the East Coast, including Saratoga County. During the course of the conspiracy, several hundred pounds of marijuana was trafficked. In June 2009, investigators executed search warrants at Canori’s residences in Wilton, New York and Ross, California and recovered currency, marijuana, and drug packaging materials. Subsequent investigation led to the additional recovery of precious metals that were proceeds of the conspiracy. Ultimately, investigators recovered over $11.28 million in proceeds of the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Hartunian praised the outstanding cooperative efforts of the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who participated in this investigation. U.S. Attorney Hartunian noted that his Office “will continue to work closely with the federal, state, and local authorities to prosecute individuals and organizations that engage in marijuana trafficking and other criminal activity throughout the Northern District of New York.”

This case was investigated by the Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force; the New York State Police; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois; the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group; the Henry County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office; the DEA Rock Island, Illinois Post of Duty; the DEA Norfolk, Virginia Resident Office; and the Illinois State Police.