Last suspect in Schenectady drug ring pleads innocent in court

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

The alleged Long Island supplier to the drug ring whose breakup by authorities resulted in a prison term for former Schenectady police chief Gregory Kaczmarek pleaded innocent to a list of charges this morning.

Maximo Doe, 30, formerly of Coram, Suffolk County, was arraigned in Schenectady County Court this before Judge Karen Drago.

Doe appeared with attorney Fred Rench.

Doe was the final suspect in the drug ring to remain at large. He had been wanted since his May 2008 indictment.

He faces up to 25 years in state prison on a number of high-level drug charges related to the ring.

Prosecutor Michael Sharpe gave similar notifications to the defense as he did in other cases — that Doe’s voice was captured on wiretaps.

Doe was arrested earlier this summer in New York City after an officer spotted him with an open container of alcohol, prosecutors said. Fingerprints revealed Doe’s identity.

Doe had already been on lifetime drug-related parole even before the accusations in the Schenectady case. The parole was related to a Suffolk County drug conviction in 2000. He was released in 2005, state records show.

Prosecutions of the drug ring resulted in two dozen people taking plea deals, and many of them being sent to state prison. The drug ring was headed by Kerry Kirkem and Oscar Mora. Kirkem is serving 12 years in prison and Mora, 20.

Kaczmarek is serving a two-year sentence on a drug possession plea. His wife, Lisa Kaczmarek, was sentenced to six months in jail on related charges. She has since been released.