Probation for final defendant in St. Charles mail order pot scheme
A San Diego woman, who was one of four people arrested in a mail order marijuana scheme operated out of St. Charles in 2014, has pleaded guilty to reduced felony charges and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Mary Helen Kwiatkowski, 35, of the 4800 block of Brighton Avenue, can live in California during her probation, according to Kane County court records.
She pleaded guilty earlier this month to manufacture/delivery of 10 to 30 grams of marijuana. The plea, which was given in exchange for prosecutors reducing the charges, was made in mid-June and warded off a bench trial scheduled this week before Judge Linda Abrahamson, records show.
Kwiatkowski initially was charged with manufacture/delivery of 500 grams to 2,000 grams of marijuana, a felony punishable by three to seven years in prison.
If she violates her probation, she could be resentenced to additional probation or up to three years in prison.
Kwiatkowski, along with three St. Charles residents, were arrested after an investigation by the North Central Narcotics Task Force. She was accused of being part of a ring in which marijuana was mailed to the area to be resold in the suburbs, according to authorities.
St. Charles couple Anthony and Gina Salemi, 59 and 55, respectively, pleaded guilty to felony marijuana charges in fall 2015 and each received two years of probation, records show.
Nicholas Salemi, 27, also of St. Charles, pleaded guilty to felony marijuana possession and was sentenced to five years in prison. His sentence was cut in half for good behavior and he was released in May 2016 and on parole through May 2018, record show.
A message left with Fawell and Associates, the law firm hired by Kwiatkowski, was not immediately returned.