Morgan County 2017 Seizure Figures Used in Robert Fiels' 70-Month Sentence

U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo in the Western District of New York sentenced 38-year-old Robert Fiels of City Falls, Oregon to 70 months’ imprisonment after his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distributing, 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. Prosecutors characterized the case as a cross-country trafficking conspiracy that reached Western New York and states including Illinois, Indiana and Oregon.

Prosecutors described Fiels’ role in direct terms: “Fiels acted as a source of supply for individuals who trafficked marijuana and marijuana-based products nationwide. He used others, including co-defendant Syed Ahmad, to transport the drugs. Other co-defendants, including Frank Vacanti and Vincent Lopresti, distributed the marijuana throughout Western New York.” The government says the conspiracy stretched from late 2016 through mid-2019 and included alleged shipments of roughly 1,800 pounds of marijuana to a single individual between late 2016 and June 2019.

The Morgan County connection that first drew local attention came on December 31, 2017, when local law enforcement and federal agents recovered approximately 1,000 pounds of marijuana from an RV stopped at Love’s Truck Stop in South Jacksonville. Authorities say the RV was driven by Syed Ahmad and another individual and that prosecutors contend the load belonged to Fiels and was being transported for distribution across the United States. Investigators described that seizure as part of a broader probe: “The Morgan County seizure was part of a multi-agency investigation …”

The investigation recovered multiple cash and narcotics seizures tied to Fiels. In January 2017, DEA-Chicago agents and Amtrak Police stopped Fiels as he traveled from Buffalo to Chicago and seized $222,965 from his luggage after he consented to a search. In January 2018, Hobart, Indiana police seized $48,000 during a traffic stop for traveling too fast for conditions. In February 2020, Springfield, Oregon officers seized approximately $15,000 sent to Fiels through the U.S. Postal Service. On June 29, 2020, officers executing search warrants at three Oregon locations tied to Fiels, including his residence and work apartment, recovered marijuana, marijuana-based products, USPS parcels, packing materials, scales, psychedelic mushrooms, two firearms, liquid steroids and other drug paraphernalia.

The lengthy, multi-jurisdictional probe involved Homeland Security Investigations offices in Buffalo, Portland and Springfield, Illinois, as well as Illinois State Police, Oregon State Police, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Hobart Police Department, Springfield Police Department in Oregon, DEA-Chicago and Amtrak Police. Prosecutors noted that several co-defendants in the case were previously convicted and sentenced, and the government relied on testimony and travel by local officers across the country during the prosecution.