Father of Schenectady killer sentenced in drug case

SCHENECTADY — The father of a notorious Schenectady killer was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison in a federal drug case, authorities said.

Marty Humphrey, 65, of Schenectady appeared in federal court after he pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine in Schenectady between August 2016 and May 2017.

Humphrey was among 12 people arrested last August, accused of participating in a drug ring that spanned Schenectady and Albany.

Humphrey is the father of Marty Humphrey Jr., now 34, who is serving 46 years to life in state prison at Dannemora for his role in the November 2000 baseball bat killing of pizza delivery man Hassan Noorzai at Yates Village.

Humphrey Jr., 16 at the time, worked with two others to lure Noorzai there, kill him and rob him of what turned out to be $15.

Humphrey Sr.’s attorney briefly referenced Humphrey Jr. in a family history portion of the defendant’s presentencing memorandum filed in the father’s drug case. The defense only noted that Humphrey Jr. is 34 and currently incarcerated.

The elder Humphrey was accused of taking part in the drug ring operated by others. Humphrey’s attorney, Eric Schillinger, called his client a minor player in the ring, while prosecutor Michael Barnett called Humphrey more than that.

“The evidence demonstrates, and the defendant admitted, that he repeatedly conspired with a significant drug dealer — co-defendant Darren Robinson — to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine,” Barnett wrote.

Robinson’s case remains pending.

Schillinger argued Humphrey has a long drug addiction. Humphrey wrote in his own letter filed earlier that he has used crack cocaine off and on since the late 1980s.

Schillinger said Humphrey had limited involvement in the conspiracy, that he purchased crack cocaine for his own use and resold it on occasion to support his own addiction.

“Mr. Humphrey, as a minimal actor in this distribution case, at 65 years old, poses no threat or risk to the community,” Schillinger wrote.

Schillinger asked for a sentence of time served, which amounts to nine months. Barnett asked for 12 months.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino sentenced him Wednesday to 15 months.