Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Noto, who handled the case, stated that the couple harassed and intimidated witnesses in the federal prosecution of Mindy Konopski’s brother Jonathan Fernandes. He was convicted after a jury trial in August 2015 of multiple drug charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, as well as witness tampering. Mindy and Andrej Konopski confronted an individual they believed was cooperating against Fernandes in a threatening and intimidating matter and obtained a false statement from that individual that was later used in court documents filed by Fernandes. Jonathan Fernandes will be sentenced on January 8, 2016.
Today’s sentencings are the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, and the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff David Cole.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
