Louisiana Man Sentenced On Drug Charges

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Karl David Audirsch, 40, of Louisiana, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, was sentenced to 87 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit $945,000 in cash.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that the investigation focused on the drug trafficking activities of Letorrance Travis and his associates. On November 6, 2011, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized approximately 14 kilograms of cocaine, $176,790 in United States currency, and four vehicles through a series of controlled acquisitions of cocaine and searches of several residences. The organization used minivans with hidden traps, one of which was later found to contain an additional 10 kilograms of cocaine, to transport kilograms of cocaine from Dallas, Texas to Buffalo.

The defendant was arrested in November 2011 along with Letorrance Travis, of Buffalo, and Luis Manuel Zuniga of Texas. Zuniga has also entered a plea and is awaiting sentencing, while Travis was recently indicted in a Racketeering Conspiracy which remains pending as well as this Indictment.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Lockport Police Department, under the direction of Chief Lawrence Eggert, the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome Uschold, the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey, the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.