Two Amsterdam men charged in cocaine mailing scheme

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

Two Amsterdam men have been arrested in connection with a scheme that saw cocaine sent through the mail destined for the city, authorities said.

Matthew Clark, 32, and Jonathan Urban, 28, were both charged in the scheme in federal court. Urban pleaded guilty to a related charged this week. Prosecutors indicted Clark last week.

Authorities charged the two as part of an investigation into a drug trafficking organization sending cocaine from the north coast of Puerto Rico to the greater Amsterdam area.

Clark is accused of receiving the drugs at addresses in the Amsterdam area from mid 2014 to early 2015 containing cocaine and marijuana, according to federal filing.

According to the federal complaint against Clark, agents first spotted him in relation to the scheme Oct. 1, 2014.

Agents watched a letter carrier deliver a package from Puerto Rico. Clark approached the house, took the package and walked off. A neighbor spotted Clark ditching the package in brush.

A police officer stopped the empty-handed Clark. Clark claimed he was in the area waiting for his girlfriend to come home, but he couldn’t provide her address.

Inside the package, authorities found a DVD player with a white, powdery substance identified as cocaine, which weighed about 1.25 pounds.

Then, on May 4, 2015, authorities intercepted a package en route to Broadalbin. Inside was another CD/DVD player. This one had 2.2 pounds of cocaine, police said.

Authorities traced that package to Clark through informants, according to court paperwork.

Clark faces one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, related to the alleged length of the scheme, and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance related to the Oct. 1, 2014 incident.

Urban pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Urban admitted to agreeing to accept $500 to arrange a place to send the May shipment, according to Urban’s plea agreement. Urban is to be sentenced in April.