Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty To Narcotics Trafficking

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that William Key, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant participated in a drug trafficking network which distributed hundreds of pounds of marijuana in the City of Buffalo. Key was on probation following a state drug conviction at the time of his arrest on federal charges.

Key was arrested along with four others involved in the conspiracy. Defendants Mark Moodie, Oneil Bennett, and Wilfred Taylor, have been convicted. Charges are pending against Raymond Lee. 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.

This plea is the culmination of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation by Special Agents of Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge J. Michael Kennedy, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 11, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.