A Jamestown man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly selling illegal drugs in the city.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo has announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Joseph Thayer, 48, with narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Louis A. Testani, who are handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between 2018, and May 26, 2022, Thayer conspired with Joseph S. Zaso and others, to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Jamestown area. Co-defendants include Andres Pizzaro Campos, Max Pizzaro Campos, Cindy Frank, Edward Leeper, and Jaquez L. Thomas. Joseph Zaso was previously charged and convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

Thayer was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and detained.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone.