Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty For His Role In Heroin And Fentanyl Conspiracy

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Reese Moore, 26, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant conspired with others to distribute heroin and fentanyl for over two years in the City of Buffalo and surrounding areas. Many of the sales occurred on residential streets in Buffalo, in parking lots of businesses in Amherst and Lancaster, and several times at a local mall. The conspiracy is responsible for distributing thousands of doses of opiates and causing multiple overdoses.

Specifically, Moore communicated and coordinated with a co-defendant and used cellular telephones to coordinate sales of heroin and fentanyl to users and people who resold the drugs. The defendant sold fentanyl to an individual working with investigators on three separate occasions during March of 2016.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John C. Askey; the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), under the direction of Major Mary Clark, and Lieutenant Kevin Reyes; the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief William J. Karn, Jr.; the Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Squad, under the direction of Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood; the Lockport Police Department, under the direction of Interim Police Chief Steve Preisch; the Depew Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome Miller; the Niagara County Sherriff’s Office and the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour; the Erie County Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in Charge Kevin Kelly.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Vilardo.

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