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Press Release

Batavia Man Pleads Guilty To Methamphetamine Trafficking

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

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

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gordon L. Montgomery, 57, of Batavia, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a fine of $2,000,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that the charges resulted from a joint federal, state and local investigation, which revealed that Montgomery was responsible for traveling to California on two occasions in 2007 and obtaining quantities of methamphetamine from Richard W. Mar, the President of the Hell’s Angels, Monterey (CA) Charter, and transporting the methamphetamine back to the Western District of New York, where it was distributed to others.  The defendant made the trips to California on behalf of two other co-conspirators, James H. McAuley, Jr., then the Vice President of the Hell’s Angels, Rochester Charter, and McAuley’s wife, Donna Boon. McAuley and Boon sent Montgomery on both trips, paying for his airfare and paying him a $1,000 fee for each trip. The defendant obtained and transported between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine on the two trips.

This case was part of a larger investigation that resulted in the indictment and arrest of members and associates of the Rochester and Monterey (California) Hell's Angels for drug trafficking and racketeering-related offenses in February 2012.  Along with Montgomery, Monterey (California) Hell's Angels President Richard W. Mar, Rochester Hell's Angels members James H. McAuley, Jr., of Oakfield, NY, and Jeffrey A. Tyler, of Rochester, NY, and Donna Boon, of Oakfield, were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Two other defendants, Paul Griffin, of Blasdell, NY, and Richard E. Riedman, of Webster, NY, were convicted for their roles in the methamphetamine conspiracy.  Judge Siragusa sentenced Griffin to probation and Riedman to 37 months in prison.  

Rochester Hell's Angels member Robert W. Moran, Jr., of Rochester along with Gina Tata, also of Rochester, are charged in the same indictment with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, and McAuley, Moran and Tata are charged with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity.  In addition, Tata is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the assault and conspiracy.  Another defendant, Timothy M. Stone, of Gates, NY, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the assault and conspiracy on July 6, 2015.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Siragusa on February 5, 2016.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam Cohen, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Gary T. Maha, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the City of Batavia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean Shawn Heubusch, and the Village of LeRoy Police Department.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 3, 2016, at 10:45 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.

Updated February 2, 2016