Norwood Woman Pleads Guilty to Distributing Synthetic Marijuana into State Correctional Facilities
BOSTON – A Norwood woman pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to distributing synthetic marijuana into state correctional facilities.
Caitlin Marcey, 27, pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris who scheduled sentencing for April 28, 2020. Marcey was arrested and charged in June 2019.
Marcey mailed papers soaked in synthetic marijuana, or “K2,” to Massachusetts correctional facilities. The most common means of doing so is by soaking or spraying synthetic marijuana onto documents and then transporting those documents, either in person or by mail, into the jail, where they can be smoked. It is also common to attempt to include documents soaked in synthetic marijuana in mailings disguised as legal mail, as this mail is generally not subjected to rigorous screening due to attorney-client privilege.
In November 2018, investigators at the Souza Baranowksi Correctional Center (SBCC) in Lancaster, Mass., monitored recorded jail calls during which Marcey arranged for the delivery of synthetic marijuana. Investigators subsequently intercepted mail sent by Marcey that purported to be an attorney mailing to an SBCC inmate. The records inside the mailing tested positive for synthetic marijuana.
The charge of distribution of a controlled substance provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New England Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg A. Friedholm and John T. Mulcahy of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
