Buffalo Man Sentenced in 31-Gang Case

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Glance Ross, 29, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of cocaine trafficking and money laundering, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara to 139 months in prison.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. McCabe, who handled the case, Ross was a member of the “31-Gang” which operated on Buffalo’s east side. The defendant was one of the leaders of the gang and obtained kilogram quantities of cocaine which he then redistributed to other gang members and neighborhood drug dealers. In addition, Ross also engaged in money laundering by using a safe deposit box at a Buffalo branch of Citizens Bank to store and conceal $170,000 in drug sale proceeds. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) discovered the money in December 2008 during the execution of a search warrant.

“This is the just the latest example of the efforts of our office, along with our federal and local partners, to rid our city streets and neighborhoods of gang members and the violence often associated with gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “This sentence should send a loud and clear message to anyone considering joining a gang that violence and drug dealing will not be tolerated in our community.”

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota.