Stacie Demers, 54, of Constable, New York, is going away for a decade. Yesterday, she was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for her central role in a large-scale marijuana distribution conspiracy that stretched from the Canadian border deep into the Eastern United States.
The sentence, handed down in Plattsburgh, New York, includes an additional five years of supervised release following incarceration. Demers, who lived just miles from the international border, used her rural property as a hub for smuggling and storing thousands of kilograms of marijuana smuggled from Canada.
Convicted after a swift three-day trial in January 2016, Demers was found guilty of orchestrating logistics with family members and other co-conspirators. Evidence showed loads of marijuana were funneled across the border, then stashed in a shed behind her home and other undisclosed locations before being loaded onto vehicles bound for street-level dealers.
The operation didn’t last long under federal scrutiny. The Drug Enforcement Administration, working alongside the New York State Police and U.S. Border Patrol, dismantled the network through coordinated surveillance, tracking, and interdiction. The investigation revealed a well-organized supply chain exploiting the remote northern New York corridor.
U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt announced the sentencing, touting it as a strike against transnational drug networks operating in upstate communities. “This case proves no location is too remote for federal reach,” Hunt stated.
Prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine E. Kopita and Cyrus P.W. Rieck, who emphasized the scale and danger of the conspiracy. For Demers, the cost of the operation is now measured in years behind bars — a 10-year sentence for a crime rooted in greed, geography, and the relentless demand for illicit marijuana.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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