Man who had 18 pounds of marijuana delivered to house gets 8 years in prison
A 30-year-old Wheaton man has been sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $10,000 for his role in having an 18-pound package of marijuana delivered to an Aurora house in February 2018.
John M. Virzi, of the 15600 block of Winfield Road, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Kane County Judge David Kliment to one count of possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, a felony that carried a prison term of six to 30 years with no chance of probation, in exchange for prosecutors dismissing other charges.
Virzi and two others were arrested in early February 2018 after a package, which had been flagged by U.S. Postal Inspectors, was delivered to a house on the 900 block of Pearl Street in Aurora.
Officials at the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, which assisted Aurora police in the investigation and arrests, said a search warrant was obtained and the package contained 8,261 grams of marijuana, which is about 18 pounds.
Virzi and Desiree Schindlebeck, 26, were arrested after the package was delivered to Schindlebeck's house on Pearl. Her husband, Stephen A. Schindlebeck, 30, was not home but was arrested about an hour later in Lockport, authorities said.
Both are charged with cannabis trafficking and face a top prison term of 30 years. The Schindlebecks are both free on bond and next due in court Sept. 26.
Richard Russo, the defense attorney for Virzi, declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.
Under state law, Virzi can have his prison sentence cut in half for good behavior. He gets credit for 17 days served at the Kane County jail until he posted 10% of $150,000 bail in mid-February 2018.