ALBANY, NEW YORK – Lateek White, age 53, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute marijuana and money laundering.
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.
White admitted that he was a member of a marijuana and THC trafficking organization that shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana and THC from Fresno, California, to locations throughout the United States, including New York City and the Capital Region, between 2017 and June 2022. He also admitted to laundering marijuana proceeds for the organization.
The packages of marijuana were shipped through UPS and FedEx from a shipping store in Fresno, Fast Pack & Ship, by Dwight A. Singletary II, aka “Nutt” and “Mike Jones,” and McKenzie Merrialice Coles, aka “Kenzie.” White received the packages of marijuana at, among other locations, his residence in Brooklyn; his sister, Onisha Smith, also received packages of marijuana at her apartment and a neighboring apartment in Brooklyn. In total, White and Smith received 71 packages containing approximately 294 kilograms, or 648 pounds, of marijuana.
White also laundered marijuana proceeds for the organization by depositing cash into a bank account owned by Singletary in the name “Daddy Ds Boutique,” which was a purported clothing business. When he deposited the cash, White knew that Daddy Ds Boutique was not a real clothing business and deposited the cash to conceal the nature and source of the marijuana proceeds and to promote the marijuana trafficking conspiracy.
White faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison; up to $8.5 million in fines; and term of post-release supervision of between 8 years and life. 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.
White was charged in an indictment with Singletary, Coles, Smith and 20 other people charging marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other crimes. Singletary, Coles, and Smith have pled not guilty and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.
In addition to White, seven other defendants, Rosemary Coles, Latrice Mumphrey, Sammy Olague, Victor Turner, Kristle Walker, Ruby Ledesma, and Jazell Shuler, previously pled guilty and are pending sentencing.
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.
Sean Hocking
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