Rochester man pleads guilty to drug charge

ALBION – A Rochester man pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree today in Orleans County Court and was sentenced to time served.

Tony Thompson, 48, has been in the county jail for about seven months. He has resisted plea offers and was going to go to trial. He had been charged with criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

He said in court today he put Tramadol pills on a table on March 26, 2014. But Thompson said he didn’t receive money for the pain reliever; someone else did.

Thompson said he will work hard to avoid the drug scene.

“It’s unfortunate that I’ve been in this situation all my life,” he told Orleans County Court Judge James Punch today.

The judge wished Thompson well in avoiding drugs in the future.

District Attorney Joe Cardone said in court there was “compromising proof” in the case against Thomspon.

In another case in county court, a Yates man likely will not face felony charges for fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Michael P. Silversmith, 57, of Marshall Road was arraigned in County Court on Dec. 21 for the E felony. The charge may be reduced to petit larceny, a misdemeanor. That will move the case out of County Court and to Yates Town Court.