Stephentown Man Sentenced To 30 Years in Jail For Drug Operation

PITTSFIELD, Mass — A Stephentown, N.Y. man was sentenced to 30 years in jail on drugs charges, the investigation of which included 14 Berkshire County residents being indicted, including former City Councilor Paul Capitiano.

 

Joshua Stegemann was sentenced to 30 years by The United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, on Friday on charges of possessing cocaine, heroin, and oxycodone with intent to distribute, possessing two handguns in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and unlawfully possessing three firearms and ammunition as a felon.

 

Stegemann had been convicted by a jury of the crimes last August. The Stephentown, N.Y. resident used his house and property as a "base of operation for his drug trafficking business," according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

 

On April 30, 2013 investigators recovered cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun, and more than $296,000 in cash. The items were found all over the property including in landscaping features and tree stumps and pine trees.

 

A few days later, on May 3, 2013, a safe was found in a Pittsfield home which Stegemann had stashed there. That safe contained another $160,000 in cash. In total, the U.S. Attorney's Office says more than 600 grams of cocaine, 30 grams of heroin, more than 700 oxycodone pills, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition and nearly a half-million in cash was recovered.

 

The investigation took more than a year and was started by the Massachusetts State Police, who were joined by the Rensselaer County, N.Y. Sheriff's Office, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and New York State Police.

 

District Attorney David Capeless said a total of 14 people from Berkshire County were indicted during the investigation, including then-City Councilor Paul Capitanio. Capitano pled guilty in 2015 to accessory before the fact of a felony for trying to top off Stegemann's associates about a raid. He was sentenced to two-years probation.

 

"This was a joint investigation initiated by the Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force, and grew to include the DEA, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office and New York State Police. The cooperation among the agencies was a model for law enforcement practices, with communities in two states benefiting from their combined efforts. I want to thank United States Attorney Richard Hartunian for agreeing to support our work with the prosecution of the case, and to Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bellis for his dogged effort in securing the convictions and a just sentence," Capeless wrote in a release.

 

In Berkshire County, Stegemann had previously been convicted of trafficking in cocaine in 1999 and served three to five years in state prison. In 2003, he was convicted a second time of trafficking in cocaine and sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison.