United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Roderick Arrington, a/k/a Ra-Ra, 41, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah E. Lenihan and Timothy C. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that Roderick was a member of the Schuele Boys Gang, which operated in the Schuele Street area of the East Side of Buffalo, was responsible for multiple acts of violence and the distribution of illegal narcotics including cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. The Government states that one of those acts of violence was the murder of Quincy Balance a/k/a Shooter, at the intersection of Northland and Stevens on the East Side of Buffalo on August 30, 2012. The Schuele Boys believed Balance was involved in the shooting murder of one of their associates on nearby Carl Street four days earlier. During his plea, Arrington denied being involved in the murder of Quincy Balance. 

The plea is the result of an investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Division; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eugene Staniszewski.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 29, 2023, before Judge Wolford.