Lincoln Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on July 13, 2012, Tony Harlan Wilson, 45, of Lincoln, was sentenced to 14 years (168 months) in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between January 1, 2008 and November 5, 2010. Following the prison term, Wilson will serve five years on supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $69 in cash to the United States of America.

Information provided to law enforcement indicated that Wilson was responsible for the distribution of at least 1.5 kilograms (approximately three pounds) but less than five kilograms (11 pounds) of methamphetamine. On November 5, 2010, Lincoln Police officers saw Wilson engaged in what they suspected to be a drug transaction. Wilson was contacted by officers and was found in possession of approximately 4.5 grams of methamphetamine and $69 in cash.

The matter was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force, which includes officers of the Lincoln Police Department, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department.

Dallas Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Federal Prison on Federal Firearms Convictions

DALLAS—Otilio Osorio, 23, who pleaded guilty in November 2011 to various firearms offenses, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 84 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Osorio has been in custody since his arrest in February 2011 on related charges.

Otilio Osorio pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make a false statement or representation with respect to information required to be kept in the records of a licensed firearms dealer, one substantive count of the same, and one count of possession of a firearm bearing a removed or obliterated serial number.

Three co-defendants in the case, Ranferi Osorio, 28; Kelvin Leon Morrison, 26; and Luis Carbajal, 23, who also pleaded guilty in November 2011 to various firearms offenses, were sentenced in February 2012 by Judge Lindsay as follows: Ranferi Osorio—120 months; Morrison—30 months; and Carbajal, whom the Ccurt found to be the least culpable in this case, to a two-year term of probation. Osorio and Morrison have also been in federal custody since their arrest in February 2011.

Ranferi Osorio and Morrison each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make a false statement or representation with respect to information required to be kept in records of a licensed firearms dealer. Ranferi Osorio also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm bearing a removed or obliterated serial number. In addition, Ranferi Osorio, Morrison, and Carbajal each pleaded guilty to making a false statement or representation with respect to information required to be kept in records of a licensed firearms dealer.

According to documents filed in the case, from June 2010 through February 2011, Otilio and his brother Ranferi Osorio, Morrison, and Carbajal, along with co-defendants Angel Pablo Monroy, Rosendo Quinones, Eder Talamantes, and Kevin Bueno, conspired to acquire firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers and acquired those firearms by making false statements and representations with respect to information required to be kept in the dealers’ records. Together, they formulated a plan that included selecting the licensed dealers and the types of firearms to be purchased and acquiring the firearms from those dealers by making false statements intended to deceive the firearm dealer.

In November 2010, Otilio Osorio knowingly possessed 12 Romarm, Model Draco, 7.62x39 caliber firearms, which he knew had the importer’s or manufacturer’s serial numbers removed and obliterated. He knowingly transferred them to a confidential informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), who subsequently seized them.

In July 2010, Morrison purchased four Romarm, Model WASR-10, 7.62x39 caliber rifles and knowingly made a false statement and representation regarding the name and address of the actual transferee/buyer on the ATF Form 4473, information that the licensed dealer is required by law to keep in its records. Specifically, Morrison alleged that he was the actual transferee/buyer when he was not.

Also in November 2010, Ranferi Osorio knowingly possessed 12 Romarm, Model Draco, 7.62x39 caliber firearms, which he knew had the importer’s or manufacturer’s serial numbers removed and obliterated. Ranferi Osorio transferred these firearms to a confidential informant working for ATF, and ATF subsequently seized these firearms.

In December 2010, Carbajal purchased a Century Arms, Model Draco, 7.62x39 caliber pistol from a federally licensed firearms dealer and knowingly stated on the ATF Form 4473 that he was the actual transferee/buyer, when in fact, he was not.

Monroy, Quinones, Talamantes, and Bueno have pleaded guilty to their roles and are to be sentenced next month.

The investigation is being conducted by the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI; U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Lancaster, Texas Police Department; and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters are in charge of the prosecution.

10 Arrested in Major Narcotics Roundup on Buffalo’s East Side

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. and Special Agent in Charge of the of the New York Field Division United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) John P. Gilbride announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned three Indictments charging 10 individuals with various narcotics trafficking charges including conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine in the City of Buffalo.

The first Indictment charges Anthony Avery, 44, Linda Johnson, 42, and Tyree Bishop, 31, with conspiring to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, a ten million dollar fine, or both. According to the Indictment, beginning in 2010, the defendants conspired to obtain cocaine from sources in Columbus, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. This resulted in the estimated distribution of over 75 kilograms in the Buffalo area for which the defendants paid $2,300,000.

Anthony Avery distributed much of the cocaine to members of the Camp Street Boys, a violent drug trafficking organization operating on the East Side of Buffalo. A second Indictment accuses Tramell McGee, 28, Jerome Brown, 38, Nikita Burt, 27, Terrell Moore, 30, Anthony Wilson, 30, and Kevin Battles, 44, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years, a five million dollar fine, or both. The Indictment alleges the defendants distributed the cocaine and crack cocaine primarily in the Genesee/Jefferson area of the City of Buffalo.

A third Indictment charges Camp Street Boys member Dion Garrett, 32, with distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. If convicted, Garrett faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a fine of one million dollars, or both.

“This case again puts drug dealers and those who operate in gangs on notice – your days on the streets of our community are numbered,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Whether you traffic in narcotics, possess firearms for violence or drug dealing, or participate in the gang life, we will not rest until you are arrested and convicted.”

An additional person was also arrested this morning in connection with this investigation.

DEA Special Agent in Charge John P. Gilbride stated, “The 'Camp Street Crew' has been dismantled. From the top to the bottom, law enforcement has successfully identified and unearthed their drug smuggling organization in order to rid our streets of cocaine and the violence associated with drug trafficking. DEA worked with our law enforcement partners to put Anthony Avery and Tramell McGee in jail along with their coconspirators for their illegal and dangerous alleged crimes that affected our community. The East side of Buffalo is a safer place because of law enforcement’s cooperation and these arrests.”

The Indictments are the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Dale Kasprzyk, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Kollmar, Investigators with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Frank Sedita, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Anthony Palombo, the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill and the Lockport Police Department, under the direction of Chief Lawrence Eggert.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.