Was part of conspiracy to ship 500 lbs. of marijuana to New Jersey

Roy Winston Harte of Irvington was sentenced to 12 years in state prison Thursday for his role in a drug ring that shipped more than 500 pounds of marijuana from Arizona to New Jersey using UPS and FedEx.

Four other members of the drug ring were previously sentenced to prison.

Harte’s sentence includes six years of parole ineligibility, state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said. Harte was sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler in Newark.

Harte, 52, was convicted at trial on Oct. 7 of three counts of first-degree distribution of marijuana, two counts of first-degree possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, one count of second-degree conspiracy, and one count of third-degree distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school.

Deputy Attorney General Veronica Allende prosecuted the case. Harte was charged as the result of a joint investigation by the State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice and Arizona Department of Public Safety.