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Head Shop Owner Sentenced on Drug Charges

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) _ A 34-year-old upstate New York man has been sentenced in federal court to more than a dozen years in prison for distributing synthetic drugs from his 12 head shops.
 
    John Tebbetts of Rome also will undergo three years of supervised release after serving the prison time. As part of a plea, he was sentenced Tuesday to 87 months and agreed to forfeit six vehicles and more than $300,000.
 
    Tebbetts pleaded guilty in December 2012 to six felony charges of possessing synthetic drugs that were chemically similar to a controlled substance, and money laundering. His chain of Tebbs Smokeshops in New York and Maine was taken down that year by a nationwide crackdown on synthetic drugs.
 
    Tebbetts also faces separate charges from New York state for failing to pay his taxes and violating state labeling laws.