Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Charges in 31-Gang Case

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that David Howard, age forty-one (41), of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before District Judge Richard J. Arcara for cocaine trafficking in 2008 and 2009.  The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

            According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. McCabe,  Howard aided in distributing kilogram amounts of cocaine to members of the “31 Gang” in Buffalo, New York.  In doing so, Howard used a house at 115 Shumway, in the City of Buffalo, as a “work house” for the purchase, preparation and distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine.  In February 2009, Howard also provided money to co-defendant Marcus Chambers to purchase multiple kilograms of cocaine from a supplier in Mentor, Ohio.  On February 17, 2009, Chambers was stopped by local police in Mentor, who recovered $220,000 from Chambers’s vehicle.

            Howard was indicated along with 34 others in this case.  All defendants have pleaded with 3, including Howard, awaiting sentencing.

            The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota and officers on the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force.

            Sentencing is scheduled on July 15, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.