Four Penn State students face felony charges in connection with a drug operation police say aimed to distribute 400 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $1.2 million, throughout State College, state officials said Monday.
Twenty-three-year-old Penn State student Paul R. Spara supplied marijuana to 21-year-old Sanjay A. Deendyal, 22-year-old Michael S. Montgomery and 22-year-old Evan P. Stiekman, all of whom are students, police said. They in turn would then sell the drugs to other students, according to a press release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett.
"The attorneys are working to hopefully get it resolved in a matter that is best for everyone," Deendyal said Monday. "Anything I could probably say would look bad in the case. It's overwhelming, but I'm focusing on schoolwork, so I'll just leave it at that."
The students face 29 total counts of various charges:
-- Spara, 161 Gressley Road, Ruffs Dale, was charged with 13 counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
-- Deendyal, 677 Leslie Lane, Yardley, was charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver marijuana, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
-- Montgomery, 370 Pinkerton Road, Wexford, was charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver marijuana, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
-- Stiekman, 70 Glenn Ridge Road, Hamden, Conn., was charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver marijuana, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
Spara faces a maximum of 77 years in prison, attorney general spokeswoman Lauren Bozart said, while the other students charged could serve up to 37 years each.
Deendyal and Montgomery are members of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, 429 E. Hamilton Ave., fraternity President Owen Dresser said. The situation is "not a fraternity problem," Dresser said, adding he had not yet heard of the charges.
The investigation began in 2006 and lasted through December 2007, Bozart said. Corbett's office was in contact with university officials throughout the process, she said.
Witnesses testified to authorities that throughout 10 meetings between 2006 and December 2007, Spara received about 400 pounds of marijuana from 25-year-old New York resident Jason Remington, according to court documents.
The grand jury presentment states Spara paid Remington between $2,700 and $2,800 per pound of marijuana. Spara then resold the drugs to the Penn State students for between $3,000 and $3,200 per pound, according to court documents.
The marijuana was smuggled across the Canadian border from an American Indian reservation, according to the presentment.
Spara delivered about 20 pounds of marijuana to Deendyal at his fraternity house between March and May 2007, police said. Deendyal told officers he received about 10 deliveries from Spara, paying him $3,000 per pound, police said.
Spara also supplied former Penn State students Michael T. Presogna, 120 Seymore Ave., and Evan B. Mossman, a former Sigma Pi fraternity member currently incarcerated in SCI Camp Hill, police and fraternity officials said. Mossman had been previously charged in an earlier State College drug roundup, according to court documents.
Presogna and Mossman are each charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver marijuana, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility, police said.
Mossman is also charged with one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, police said.
On Dec. 7, 2007, police pulled over Remington's vehicle after he had been at Spara's apartment, 235 S. Buckhout St., police said.
Authorities discovered he was driving under the influence of THC, the main ingredient in marijuana, police said. Officers found $29,625 and paperwork regarding marijuana sales inside his car, police reported.
Penn State spokeswoman Jill Shockey said "it's always disappointing" when students are alleged to be involved in unlawful behavior. She would not confirm if any of the students had been expelled from the university.
