Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 17, 2012 |
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Antonio Briggs, 40, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, an $8,000,000 fine, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that Briggs was arrested along with 16 others in August of 2010 for narcotics trafficking. The defendant sold quantities of cocaine from KJ Fashions, his clothing store, at 439 East Amherst St. in Buffalo. To date, six of the 17 defendants have been convicted.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero; the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour; and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Transit Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 17, 2013, and 9:00 a.m. Judge Skretny.