ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ruby Ledesma, age 25, of Fresno, California, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC).
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.
Ledesma admitted that she was a member of a marijuana and THC trafficking organization that shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana and THC from Fresno to locations throughout the United States, including the Capital Region, between 2016 and June 2022. The marijuana and THC was shipped through UPS and FedEx from a shipping store, Fast Pack & Ship, in Fresno.
Fast Pack & Ship was owned by Ledesma’s brother, Sammy Olague, from 2016 through June 2018, when he sold the business to Nehemiah Fane, aka “Neil.” Olague received a portion of the purchase money for Fast Pack & Ship from Dwight A. Singletary II, aka “Nutt” and “Mike Jones,” and James Tyrell Daniels, aka “Red” and “Ghost,” helped manage Fast Pack & Ship when it was owned by Fane. In April 2020, Fane transferred ownership of Fast Pack & Ship to Singletary’s partner, McKenzie Merrialice Coles, aka “Kenzie,” who operated Fast Pack & Ship through M.M.M.C. Management, Inc. The defendant worked with Olague, Fane, Daniels, Singletary and Coles to ship the packages of marijuana and THC.
Ledesma also arranged for Singletary to obtain distribution-quantities of THC “edibles,” which Singletary, in turn, sold.
Ledesma was charged in an indictment with Singletary, Coles, Olague, Fane, Daniels and 18 other people charging marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other crimes. Singletary, Coles, Fane, and Daniels have pled not guilty and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.
In addition to Ledesma, Olague and five other defendants, Rosemary Coles, Latrice Mumphrey, Jazell Shuler, Victor Turner, and Kristle Walker, 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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