United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO — Sheila G. Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago, and Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois announced on Aug. 30, 2024, that William R. Busse III, 41, of Homer Glen, Illinois, has been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges for allegedly distributing cocaine and attempting to distribute fentanyl in the Chicago area.

Busse distributed cocaine and methamphetamine in Chicago in 2021, according to an indictment returned Aug. 29, 2024, in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Busse also attempted to distribute cocaine and fentanyl in the Chicago suburbs that same year, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Busse with distribution and attempted distribution of controlled substances.  Each of the six counts in the indictment is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.

Joining SAC Lyons and Acting U.S. Attorney Pasqual in making the announcement was Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth E. Palmer.

The investigation was conducted with the support of the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA).  The task force is comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who work together to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking operations.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.