A West New York man has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison for growing large crops of marijuana inside two buildings in Newark.
David Companioni (left) will serve 20 years in state prison. Aday Y. Fernandez (right) still awaits sentencing (Courtesy of OAG). NEWARK -- A West New York man has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison for growing large crops of marijuana inside two buildings in Newark, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced Friday.
David Companioni, 32, was convicted on first-degree charges of operating a controlled dangerous substance production facility and second-degree possession with intent to distribute charges in Essex County Superior Court on Aug. 20.
State authorities said Companioni and co-defendant Aday Y. Fernandez, 34, were co-conspirators in a scheme to cultivate and maintain a marijuana growing operation at a Miller Street warehouse.
Authorities arrested both men in Feb. 2012 after investigators with the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking North Unit discovered more than 100 marijuana plants inside the warehouse and at a multi-family home on Summer Avenue.
Investigators executed a separate search warrant at Fernandez's residence in the 300 block of 54th Street in West New York, where they seized several pounds of marijuana and more than $42,000 in U.S. currency, authorities said.
Fernandez, also of West New York, pleaded guilty in April to charges of conspiracy and maintaining or operating a controlled dangerous substance production facility.
Attorneys for the state are recommending that Fernandez receive a sentence of seven years in state prison.
Fernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13.
Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
