Buffalo Man Sentenced For Conspiring To Sell Fentanyl

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jose Alvarez, 26, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, butyryl fentanyl, was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, who handled the case, stated that on July 27, 2017, Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents executed a search warrant on Alvarez’s vehicle. During the search, agents recovered 20 bags of butyryl fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance. The investigation determined that the defendant, along with his co-defendants, were staying at a hotel and casino located in Salamanca. Subsequently, law enforcement executed a search warrant in their hotel room, where agents recovered another 196 bags of butyryl fentanyl.  Alvarez also admitted selling butyryl fentanyl on three prior occasions in Salamanca in May and July of 2017.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; the NYS State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy; and the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb.