Buffalo Man Sentenced On Cocaine Charge

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Michael Damian Rivera-Melendez, 27, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of attempt to possess cocaine with intent to distribute cocaine, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frank P. Geraci.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, who handled the case, stated that on April 29, 2015, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted a package shipped from Puerto Rico to an address in Buffalo. A search warrant was executed and revealed an amount of cocaine concealed in the package. During a controlled delivery of the package to the residence in Buffalo, Rivera-Melendez directed another person to sign for the package. When Drug Enforcement Administration agents attempted to arrest the defendant, Rivera-Melendez attempted to flee from law enforcement by escaping down a stairwell in the residence. Law enforcement ultimately arrested the defendant and recovered the opened package. 

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski.