United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, announced today that Lamario Mills, a/k/a Rio, 32, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy to possessing with intent to distribute, and distributing, 500 grams or more of cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $5,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah E. Lenihan and Joshua A. Violanti, who are handling 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 2018 along with nine other defendants, he is the second to be convicted. 

The plea is the result of an investigation by the DEA’s Buffalo Resident Office, New York Field 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. 

Sentencing is scheduled for August 17, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.