A 37-year-old Utica man has been sentenced in federal court in Syracuse to over 10 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, according to a news release from the federal Department of Justice.
Frank Hunter was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and acetyl fentanyl, according to court records.
Hunter was arrested in July 2019 alongside Taki Johnson and Vennie Coleman, both of Utica. A multi-agency investigation beginning in March 2017 found Hunter was involved in a drug conspiracy that trafficked cocaine, fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl in Utica from July 2018 through July 2019, according to the release.
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The investigation used a combination of search warrants, wiretapping and controlled purchases to uncover a supply chain of drugs between Hunter, Johnson and Coleman that were later sold in the Utica-Rome area, authorities stated in court records.
The three men were indicted in October 2019 on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and six counts of money laundering, court records state. Each later pleaded guilty to the first count in separate appearances.
Johnson was sentenced in January, and Coleman was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, according to court records.
Hunter also was sentenced Wednesday to five years post-release supervision. The judge recommended he participate in substance abuse treatment, as well as be placed in a facility close to his family in Utica, court records state.
Hunter was required to forfeit around $518,000 for unrecovered assets made from selling drugs, according to court records. He also forfeited nearly $140,000 from combined currency, credit union accounts and money orders as well as a 2011 Ford Explorer, according to the DOJ release.
H. Rose Schneider covers public safety, breaking and trending news for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Rose at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica man sentenced for conspiracy to sell fentanyl, cocaine
