Town of Niagara Man Sentenced on Drug Conspiracy Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Gardiner, 29, of the Town of Niagara, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to one year in prison and three years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that on May 3, 2012, members of the Niagara County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence, a mobile home on Quain Place in the Town of Niagara. Agents found an active methamphetamine lab in the kitchen of the mobile home. They also seized precursor chemicals and ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine, a loaded 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, shotgun shells, a digital camera, and drug paraphernalia and spent blister packs from the pseudophedrine tablets.

            Co-defendant Jason Hannon, 38, also of the Town of Niagara, NY, was sentenced to 63 months in prison by Judge Arcara on March 13, 2013. Two other co-defendants, Roberta Hannon, 45, of the Town of Niagara, and Keith Crossley, 39, of Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and are awaiting sentencing.

            The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, new York Field Office and the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour.