GOSHEN – A Former Cuddebackville resident who was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for his role as the director of a large cocaine distribution organization, has lost the appeal to his conviction.
On November 22, 2016, Anthony Spagnola pled guilty in Orange County Court to selling cocaine with proceeds collected exceeding $75,000 in a one-year period as leader of what investigators dubbed “Operation Chopper.” That plea included a waiver of his right to appeal.
But, in an appeal before the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, he contended that he did not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently sign the waiver. The appeals court rejected that argument as well as Spagnola’s contention that his lawyer was ineffective “in failing to challenge the strength of the People’s case as it related to wiretap evidence.”
Investigators conducted a seven-month operation into the drug sales in Orange County and neighboring counties in New York, as well as in Sussex County, New Jersey. Police recovered over two kilograms of cocaine, most of which was seized in Sussex County.
