Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug Charges

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Luis Vazquez, 40, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiring to possess and distribute more than one kilogram of heroin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to 51 months in prison.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that in March 2012, the defendant was pulled over by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. During the traffic stop and search of Vazquez’s truck and trailer, which was en route from Chicago to Buffalo, officers recovered 2.4 kilograms of heroin. The defendant and others were transporting the kilograms of heroin from Chicago for distribution in the Buffalo area.

            The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, under the direction of Colonel John Born.