Niagara Falls Man Sentenced On Cocaine Charge

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Dante Dolson, 52, of Niagara Falls, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, was sentenced to serve 97 months imprisonment and supervised release for a term of two years by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Misha A. Coulson who handled the case, stated that between December 2016, and August 24, 2017, the defendant conspired with others to sell cocaine in the Western District of New York On at least four occasions, Dolson coordinated the transportation of 10 kilograms of cocaine to the Niagara Falls/Buffalo, NY area for distribution. On each occasion, the defendant worked with co-conspirators to conceal the cocaine within a “trap” hidden under the hood of the vehicle used to transport the cocaine in order to avoid detection by law enforcement.

On August 24, 2017, members of the Niagara Falls Police Department executed a New York State search warrant at a residence on Independence Avenue in Niagara Falls, the associated detached garage, and a vehicle registered to Dolson. The location was the residence of a relative of Dolson. When investigators entered the detached garage, the defendant was observed rolling beneath the garage door to flee from the area. Investigators also noticed that the hood of a minivan in the garage was ajar and a socket wrench was attached to a bolt securing one of the windshield wipers. The defendant had been attempting to open the “trap” contained in the engine compartment of the vehicle and concealed behind a plastic shield underneath the wiper area.

Investigators recovered five full kilos and two half-kilo sized bricks of suspected cocaine wrapped in black plastic sitting on top of the seat cushions of a couch positioned along one of the walls within the garage. $5,000 in cash was also found in another vehicle on the property.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Faso, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division.  

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