MARIJUANA DEALERS GET PROBATION IN PLEA DEAL

Three New Yorkers charged with trafficking $1.1 million
inhigh-powered marijuana last week got probation Thursday in a plea
bargain. Prosecutor Alex Postic said he recommended probation because
the trio accepted responsibility for what they did and none has a
criminal record.

In a news conference announcing their arrests, Richland County
Sheriff Leon Lott described them as big drug dealers.

Lott could not be reached Thursday.

Paul James Quarcini, 22, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana
with intent to distribute and was sentenced to two years probation, a
$1,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.

Christina L. Nablo, 23, and Frank Edward Fiori, 26, pleaded to
possession of marijuana and each was sentenced to two years
probation, community service and a $500 fine.

The group will be allowed to serve out the probation in Niagara Falls, N. Y.

"There was one major player and the other two were along for the
ride," the prosecutor said.

Quarcini could serve a five-year prison sentence if he fails to
follow the terms of his probation. Nablo and Fiori each could serve
six months if they don't complete probation.

Deputies arrested the three Aug. 27 in a Richland Northeast motel
after getting a tip, Postic said. Deputies found a duffel bag with 35
pounds of marijuana in the motel room, he said.

Attorney Robert Rikard, who represented the three, told Judge Casey
Manning that his clients are first-time offenders.

Quarcini works construction and supports his disabled mother, Rikard
said. Nablo, the daughter of factory workers, is a restaurant server,
and Fiori, whose parents are retired, works at a nursery.

"They are fist-time offenders who come from working-class families,"
Rikard said. "They immediately cooperated."

He said he doesn't think the three are involved in a bigger drug conspiracy.

The marijuana was "hydro" marijuana from Canada, Lott said last week.
Hydro marijuana has a high concentration of tetrahydro-cannabinol,
also called THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, Lott said.

Lott, a former narcotics agent, said he had never seen this kind of marijuana.