BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J.
Hochul, Jr. announced today that Louis Manuel, Jr., 32, of Jonesboro, Georgia,
pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to possession of
cocaine. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a fine of
$100,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C.
Moscati, who is handling the case, stated that Manuel shipped a package
containing a quantity of cocaine from Atlanta to Buffalo at the request and
direction of his brother, David Manuel, whom he knew to be a narcotics
trafficker.
Louis and David Manual and 18 other
defendants were charged in May 2011 for their involvement in a multi-kilogram
cocaine distribution network between Buffalo, New York and Houston, Texas.
Louis Manuel, Jr. is the third defendant to be convicted in the case.
The plea is the culmination of an
investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in
Charge Christopher M. Piehota; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the
direction of Wilbert L. Plummer, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field
Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under
the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 7,
2012 at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
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