Leader of Townsend Street drug trafficking organization going to prison for 8 1/2 years
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division announced today that Lamario Mills, a/k/a Rio, 32, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute, and distributing, 500 grams or more of cocaine, was sentenced to serve 103 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah E. Lenihan and Joshua A. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that in August 2018, investigators began looking into the drug trafficking activities of the defendant and multiple co-defendants, which were focused in the area of 67 Townsend and 76 Townsend Street in Buffalo. Between August 2018 and June 18, 2019, Mills and his co-defendants sold cocaine and crack cocaine in that area. Investigators conducted a total of 27 controlled purchases of crack cocaine and 12 purchases of cocaine.
Mills was an organizer in the drug trafficking organization, responsible for supplying members on a near-daily basis with crack cocaine, which they in turn sold on behalf of the organization. On June 18, 2019, investigators executed a search warrant at the defendant's Delaware Avenue residence, and seized a quantity of cocaine and marijuana, and utensils used to cook the cocaine into crack cocaine, such a pan, spatula, tongs, and plates. They also seized $35,562.00 in cash.
Mills was arrested in June 2019 along with nine other defendants, he is the third to be convicted.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the DEA Buffalo Resident Office, New York Division; Homeland Security Investigations; the New York State Police; the Buffalo Police Department; the Erie County District Attorney’s Office; and the Erie County Crime Analysis Center.
