Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Perjury in Bailey Boys Investigation

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael Acoff, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty to perjury for lying to the grand jury in the connection with the Baily Boys investigation, before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Parisi, who are handling the case, stated that Acoff told a federal grand jury that he had firsthand knowledge of the January 19, 2011 murder of Harold McCain. The defendant told the grand jury that he received a telephone call from McCain’s alleged killer following the murder asking the defendant to pick him up. Acoff further claimed that he did in fact pick up the alleged killer who then provided the defendant with details of the murder. According to the Indictment, Acoff never received a call from the alleged killer, did not pick him up and did not have conversations regarding the murder of Harold McCain.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Parisi note that this case is unique because the defendant took actions in an attempt to become a witness in a murder case.

Bailey Boys Gang member Tyrone Brown was indicted, along with six other members and associates, on August 1, 2012. The indictment alleged that Brown murdered Harold McCain in January 2011.

The indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation on the part of the United States Attorney’s Office in close cooperation with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, and the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey.