ALBANY — A Troy woman and Albany man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to receiving and selling marijuana from California in what prosecutors described as a nationwide trafficking scheme.
Lawrence Mumphrey, 45, and Niara Banks, 32, admitted to receiving over 1,000 pounds of marijuana from a Fresno, Calif., shipping store to their homes between 2020 and 2022. It was part of a marijuana trafficking organization in which members shipped commercially grown cannabis from Fresno to locations across the country, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Mumphrey admitted to selling from a “knock spot” in Troy where law enforcement found 29 pounds of marijuana organized with the strain and price listed on sticky notes, digital scales, a large safe with a bulletproof vest and nearly $4,000 in cash. At his apartment they found another eight pounds of marijuana in a dog food container along with three semiautomatic rifles, a 9mm pistol and ammunition used to fend off potential robbers, prosecutors said.
The plea agreement describes a system of “knock spots” in the Capital Region where various strains and quantities of marijuana and cannabis edibles were for sale with prices displayed on whiteboards. Customers placed orders, paid through a slot in the door and received the requested marijuana or edibles in return, the document said.
The two also admitted to money laundering by purchasing 21 cashier’s checks totaling nearly $200,000 to avoid federal requirements to report large cash transactions, prosecutors said. Banks admitted to sending them to a 40-year-old Fresno man also charged in the trafficking scheme.
Banks pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute marijuana and THC and conspiring to commit money laundering, prosecutors said. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the charges with three years to life of parole and up to $1.5 million in fines. Mumphrey pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute marijuana and THC, conspiring to commit money laundering and firearms possession in furtherance of drug trafficking, prosecutors said. He faces 10 years to life in prison on the three counts with four years to life of parole and $5.75 million in fines. Attorneys for both Banks and Mumphrey have not yet returned calls for comment.
Twenty-two other people were also indicted in the alleged scheme last January, with 14 others already pleading guilty, prosecutors said.
H/T: www.timesunion.com
