Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty To Cocaine Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Robert Hall, 41, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $10,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that on May 13, 2016, law enforcement officers seized three packages containing cocaine that were shipped from Texas to Buffalo to various recipients. The cocaine was hidden inside air purifiers. Officers seized two of the packages before they were delivered and set-up controlled deliveries to addresses on Tyler and Custer Streets in Buffalo. The three packages contained a total of five kilograms of cocaine. Hall paid the recipients of the packages in money or crack cocaine so they would receive the packages for Hall and co-defendant Clarence Adams. The charges against Adams remain pending. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack. 

Sentencing is scheduled for October 13, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.