Buffalo Man Convicted Following Jury Trial of a Drug Charges

          BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alexi Caliz, 50, of Buffalo, N.Y., was convicted of possessing, with the intent to distribute. cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, a $5,000,000, fine or both.
                                                                                               
            Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Alsup and Melissa M. Marangola, who handled the trial, stated that on August 10, 2012, detectives with the Niagara Falls Transit Authority intercepted a suspicious package found to contained approximately 980 grams of cocaine concealed inside a muffler. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by officers with the Buffalo Police Department and the Town of Cheektowaga Police assisted in the search of the defendant’s residence after he signed for and accepted the package.

            The verdict is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Niagara Falls Transit Authority Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast, and Town of Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David J. Zack.

          Sentencing is scheduled for December 5, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny who presided over the trial.