Schenectady man gets 11 years in prison for drug trafficking

A Schenectady man involved with his father in drug trafficking, was sentenced on Friday to 11 years in prison.

Jeffrey C. Civitello, 24, previously admitted in court to a conspiracy to traffic more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and possessing two firearms, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said.

The drug trafficking took place from 2019 to 2021, until DEA agents searched Civitello’s penthouse apartment in Schenectady. They found 75 pounds of marijuana, said investigators, along with $407,545 in cash and a 14-karat Miami Cuban chain – all proceeds from the drug operation.

Civitello also had a revolver and a rifle loaded with a high-capacity magazine containing numerous .22-caliber rounds. Civitello told investigators that he had the weapons to protect himself in case someone attempted to enter his apartment to steal his drugs or drug proceeds.

Civitello also was found guilty at a trial in April 2023 of working with his father, Jeffrey C. Civitello Sr., and three New York City-area men to traffic about 15 kilograms of cocaine in March and April 2021. Civitello Sr. was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison.