Schenectady man pleads guilty after police seize over $400K in drug money

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Schenectady man has pleaded guilty to marijuana and firearm charges in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Jeffrey Civitello Jr., 24, admitted to working with others to acquire and sell over 100 kilograms of marijuana, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ says on October 21, 2021, the DEA executed a federal search warrant on Civitello’s penthouse apartment residence in Schenectady. There, law enforcement found roughly 75 pounds of marijuana, mostly packaged in one-pound bags. The DOJ says Civitello Jr. intended to sell them, and additionally, $407,545 in cash and a 14-karat Miami Cuban chain were found, all proceeds of drug trafficking.

The DOJ says 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 in Civitello Jr.'s bedroom. In pleading guilty, he admitted to having the firearms to protect himself in case someone entered his apartment to steal his marijuana or drug proceeds.

Civitello Jr. has already forfeited the $407,545 in cash found in his safe and has also agreed to forfeit the firearms, ammunition, and the Miami Cuban chain, and to the entry of a $250,000 money judgment against him. Sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2024.