Tonawanda Woman Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gail Bishop, 44, of Tonawanda, NY, pleaded guilty to attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who is handling the case, stated that on February 3, 2013, the defendant arranged to purchase cocaine from a confidential source (CS) working with the Drug Enforcement Administration at a local coffee shop in Buffalo, NY. Bishop was arrested on February 4, 2013 after providing the CS with $5,000 in United States currency.

Officers subsequently conducted a search of the defendant’s residence and recovered nearly 80 grams of cocaine and items used to cut and package cocaine. Bishop co-owned the residence with her husband Anthony Bishop who was, at the time, and remains in jail for an October 2013 conviction on drug trafficking charges.

The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 10, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.