Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge

   BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gregory Pendziwiatr, 45, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute fentanyl, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that on January 29, 2013, the defendant drove co-defendant Mary Moran to the RiteAid Store at Harlem and Mineral Springs in West Seneca, N.Y. Pendziwiatr went inside to pick up Moran’s prescription of 10-100 mcg fentanyl patches from the pharmacy. The defendant then drove Mary Moran to 93 Pulaski Street in the City of Buffalo. A second co-defendant, Barbara Moran, came outside to the vehicle and handed Mary Moran cash for her prescription fentanyl patches.

Shortly after Barbara Moran walked back into her residence, it was determined that the RiteAid pharmacy did not fill the prescription with the desired type of fentanyl patches. As a result, Pendziwiatr drove back to 93 Pulaski Street, where Barbara Moran gave the fentanyl patches back to Mary Moran to exchange for patches containing the desired fentanyl gel formulation. The defendant then drove back to RiteAid to exchange the patches. Pendziwiatr then drove Mary Moran back to 93 Pulaski Street to give the replacement patches to Barbara Moran.

Barbara Moran and her sister-in-law, Mary Moran, have also been convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl and are awaiting sentencing.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack.