Lockport Man Convicted on Drug Conspiracy Charge

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Damian Ard 32, of Lockport, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine base. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a $5,000,000 fine, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that from 2009 through August 2010, Ard distributed cocaine base, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, Ecstasy, and prescription pills in the city of Lockport. On August 17, 2010, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at several locations including Ard’s residence on Chapel Street in Lockport. During the search, officers seized three guns, magazines, ammunition, plastic baggies containing marijuana, and surveillance equipment.

Ard was arrested along with 22 others in August of 2010 for narcotics trafficking. To date, 17 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.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 1, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.