Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug Conspiracy Charge

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that John A. Cruz, 26, of Buffalo, New York, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to 58 months in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that between December 2009 and August 17, 2010, Cruz sold quantities of heroin to other members of a drug conspiracy that was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was awaiting sentencing on other federal drug distribution charges.

Williams was arrested along with 22 others in August 2010 for narcotics trafficking. To date, 16 defendants have been convicted.

The sentencing 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 Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero; the Niagara County Drug Enforcement Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour; and the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast.