Federal prosecutors allege a Staten Island man, with the help of a co-defendant, was running a black-market cannabis farm that did business with state-licensed cultivators.
Ferrydoon M. Ardehali, 52, of Grasmere, and Colby Riggle, 37, of California, stand charged in Buffalo Federal Court with manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, according to a press release sent out Thursday by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of New York.
Attorneys for the defendants were not yet listed in court records.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Duncan is handling the case on behalf of the federal government.
DEA investigation
In January 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration launched an investigation into what was believed to be an illegal cannabis operation in the small town of Walworth, New York,according to a criminal complaint.
The defendants are accused of selling and distributing their black market goods to other grow sites in upstate New York that are state-authorized and regulated.
Generally speaking, the reasons licensed growers might purchase cannabis from black market growers could include: Avoidance of taxes and regulations, restrictions on cultivation limits, price undercutting, wholesale price fluctuations, and consumer demand outpacing supply.
Reasons a black market grower might sell to a licensed grower could include: A lack of resources and high barriers to enter the legal market; a lack of regulations on the black market, and a way to blend the product with legal cannabis to avoid attention from law enforcement.
Search warrant executed
It was about 9 a.m. on Tuesday when federal agents, police officers and sheriff’s deputies swarmed the 26-acre property, court documents stated.
It was “immediately apparent that cannabis was being grown on a large scale; processed, and packaged within the facility,” the complaint read.
Law enforcement encountered a house and 45 domed greenhouses that were connected through a series of nine structured buildings of various sizes.
Nearly 30,000 cannabis plants and about 3,700 pounds of processed cannabis were seized from the property, authorities alleged.
The complaint continued: “During the execution of the warrant, law enforcement made contact with the targets, who were both inside of a house ‘office,’ affixed to the front of the structure.
“Once the targets were detained, law enforcement secured the premises and initiated the search.”
Staten Islander admitted ownership of facility: Feds
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Ardehali acknowledged that he owned the facility and admitted he did not have a license to grow cannabis, federal prosectors alleged in court documents.
Separately, Riggle was advised of his Miranda rights, and, in sum and substance, “acknowledged his role in cultivating the marijuana on the property, and that he was not in possession of a license to grow cannabis.”
If found guilty, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. Read More
