Lockport Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Eric Williams, 34, of Lockport, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and the distribution of, cocaine.  The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a $5,000,000 fine, or both.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that on August 17, 2010, members of the Niagara County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence on Chestnut Street in Lockport. Although Williams was destroying cocaine when law enforcement officers forcibly entered the residence, officers still seized approximately 436 grams of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, sophisticated surveillance equipment, and $8,614 in US currency.

            Williams was arrested along with 22 others in August of 2010 for narcotics trafficking. He is the 16th defendant to be convicted.   

            The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour, and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Transit Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast.