DURHAM
A Durham man arrested in 2010 in Portland as he was loading marijuana into his vehicle, has been sentenced for drug trafficking conspiracy.
U. S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced Monday that Judge George Z. Singal in U.S. District Court in Portland sentenced Seth Pruzansky of Durham to serve 4.5 years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Pruzansky was also ordered to forfeit $147,500, a BMW, a Ford F-150, a silver collection and a residence under construction in Oxford County that was financed with approximately $500,000 in drug proceeds, according to the press release issued by Delahanty. Pruzansky pleaded guilty to the offense on June 2, 2011.
In September 2010, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies arrested Pruzansky in Portland as he was loading approximately 64 pounds of marijuana into his vehicle. Agents subsequently seized $147,500 and 10 cellular telephones from Pruzansky.
“The ensuing investigation revealed that Pruzansky had been trafficking in hundreds of pounds of marijuana per year since 2006,” the release states.
This case results from a joint investigation conducted by the DEA, the Maine State Police, the Portland Police Department and the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) — a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Identifying himself as Seth Leaf, Pruzansky and his brother, Davy, founded Living Nutz in Bowdoinham in 2001. He and his brother also operated a hemp lip balm company, Maine IntelliHemp Co., started by their parents in 1998.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
