Department of Justice

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Ralph St. Croix, a.k.a. “Stretch,” age 39, most recently of Schenectady, New York, formerly of Long Island, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for distributing heroin laced with fentanyl, and for possessing two firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.

In pleading guilty, St. Croix, a previously convicted felon, admitted to selling fentanyl-laced heroin to another person on three occasions in December 2020 at his apartment on Eastern Avenue in Schenectady.  St. Croix further admitted to possessing, in his apartment, a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, in order to guard against the potential theft of his drugs and drug proceeds.

Senior United States Senior District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also ordered that St. Croix serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his release from prison.

This case was investigated by ATF and NYSP with assistance provided by the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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