Two Schuele Boys Gang Associates 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 Andre Wise, 37, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, was sentenced to time served (six months) by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. In addition, Eric Sears, 49, also of Buffalo, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Burgasser, who handled the case, stated that between June 2013 and July 2014, Wise conspired with other Schuele Boys associates and gang members to distribute marijuana in the City of Buffalo. During that same time period, Sears conspired with other Schuele Boys associates and gang members including Michael Robertson to distribute cocaine in Buffalo.

The Schuele Boys Gang, which operated in the Schuele Street area of the East Side of Buffalo, is believed to be responsible for multiple acts of violence and the distribution of illegal narcotics including cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana.

Wise and Sears are two of 28 Schuele Boys Gang members, associates and other individuals arrested in this case. To date, 17 of the defendants have been convicted.

Today’s sentencings are the culmination of an investigation on the part of the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen. The task force includes representatives of the Amherst Police Department, the Buffalo Police Department the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, the Hamburg Police Department, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police, the New York State Police, the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Enforcement & Removal Operations. Additional assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Marshal Service, the Lackawanna Police Department, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department.