Driver’s tailgating leads police to find 2 pot farms with 80 plants, cops say

Authorities say a motor vehicle stop for tailgating and other minor offenses led them to discover two pot farms with nearly 80 large marijuana plants.

According to Palisades Interstate Parkway Police, at about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, officers saw a gray Nissan X-Terra with New York registration tailgating a vehicle and then changing lanes without a signal several times.

After approaching the vehicle, the officers noticed a strong smell of marijuana and asked the driver, Robert Sciolo, 48, from the Bronx to step out of the car, police said. Passenger Terrance Quinn, also 48 and from the Bronx, was asked to exit the vehicle as well. Nothing turned up on either during searches, police said.

Inside the car was a different story. Officers found three bags containing about 84 grams of marijuana there, as well as smoking pipes and various counterfeit DVDs, police said.

Both men were placed under arrest and transported to police headquarters for processing, police said. They found Sciolo also had open traffic warrants.

As police continued their investigation, they got warrants for two residences — one in the Bronx and one in Maybrook, NY, police said. It wasn't immediately clear from the information provided what prompted police to seek those warrants.

The search of Quinn's residence by Palisades police, assisted by the NYPD, yielded a seizure of 648 prescription pills including Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Adderall. Police also discovered 38 large marijuana plants inside a portion of the home designed for cultivation.

On Wednesday, working with New York State Police, they searched the Maybrook home and found another 40 marijauana plants in a room designed for cultivation, Palisades police said.

Both were charged with multiple drug offenses and lodged in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of bail, police said.