Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 Source: Post-Star, The ( NY) Copyright: 2008 Glens Falls Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.poststar.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1068 Author: Don Lehman Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) MAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON IN DRUG CASE QUEENSBURY -- A Lake George man who police believe ran a major cocaine distribution ring was sentenced to up to 7 years in state prison Wednesday, but not before he blamed a co-defendant who received a less severe sentence. Joseph Bongiorno, 45, of McGillis Avenue had asked that Judge John Hall sentence him to a prison term that would allow inclusion in the state prison system's two main drug treatment programs. If allowed to participate in those programs, he could have been released from prison in less than a year if he completed one or both. Warren County First Assistant District Attorney Jason Carusone, though, pointed out that Bongiorno told the county Probation Department that he did not use drugs and did not have a drug problem. Carusone said the Probation Department recommended the maximum sentence because of a perceived lack of responsibility on Bongiorno's part. Seconds later, Bongiorno tried to deflect some of the blame and place it on one of two co-defendants. Bongiorno appeared agitated as he told the judge the 6 ounces of cocaine that were found in his home were not his but belonged to co-defendant Jason Strainer. Strainer, 26, of Greenwich received a sentence of 2 years in state prison and had agreed to cooperate against Bongiorno if Bongiorno's case went to trial. "That was not mine," Bongiorno said of the drugs. "His fingerprints were all over that. That was his stuff." The drug seizure last April at Bongiorno's then-home on West Mountain Road in Queensbury was the biggest in Warren County's history. Bongiorno's lawyer spoke to him as Bongiorno was protesting his innocence, causing the defendant to halt his statement. Bongiorno then ended his comments about Strainer, and his lawyer, Todd Monahan, asked that they be stricken from the court record. "He will go to prison and do everything he can to become a productive member of society," Monahan said. Monahan said Bongiorno does have a drug problem, and that he wanted to be able to participate in the state's Community Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (CASAT) program. If he was allowed to take part in that program, he could serve as little as six months before his release to parole supervision. Hall declined to recommend the program, which will mean that Bongiorno will serve his sentence in the general prison population unless he convinces the state Department of Correctional Services that he should be allowed to be involved in CASAT or in the Willard Correctional Facility drug program. He will have to serve at least 6 years before becoming eligible for parole, and he will have to serve 5 years on parole after his release on the charge of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. In addition to the cocaine found in his home, police also seized a pickup truck and an all-terrain vehicle from Bongiorno. A third man who was involved in the distribution network, Pawel L. Moroz, 25, of South Glens Falls also pleaded guilty and is to serve 4-1/2 years in state prison. The case was investigated by the Warren County Sheriff's Office and Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin