Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., announced today that Algernon Toole, age 40, of Evansville, Indiana, who was convicted after a four-week jury trial of two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on Feb. 12, 2010, was sentenced to 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett A. Harvey and Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was part of a drug trafficking organization that was responsible for trafficking between 50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine from the Chicago, Illinois area to Rochester, New York between 2003 and 2006. The defendant was a leader of the organization who arranged for Rochester-based drug traffickers to obtain large quantities of cocaine from his brother, Everette Toole, who was a Chicago-based cocaine supplier. Members of the organization, including the defendant, purchased multiple-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Everette Toole and others in Chicago and transport it back to Rochester for distribution. Among other methods, the defendant and his co-conspirators utilized a 1993 Cadillac equipped with a secret compartment to transport multiple-kilogram quantities of cocaine and avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. The defendant's sentence also reflected the fact that he possessed handguns at various times during the conspiracy in 2003-2004.

Everette Toole was sentenced to 204 months in prison by Judge Larimer on September 21, 2010.

The sentencing was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of James H. Robertson, and the Rochester Police Department, under the Direction of Chief David Moore. In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Michael Lawandus, also assisted in the investigation.