CBL/BFL gang member sentenced for racketeering conspiracy and selling crack cocaine in Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan announced that Larquon Watkins, 27, of Buffalo, New York who was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine, was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul C. Parisi and Seth T. Molisani, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was a member of the CBL/BFL Gang, which was involved in the illegal possession and distribution of narcotics, was formed around 2009, and which operated primarily in the City of Buffalo at the Towne Gardens Housing Complex. The gang used violence, including murder and attempted murder, threats, and intimidation to defend their territory against rivals and anyone deemed to be a threat to the gang. Watkins is one of 12 CBL/BFL Gang members charged and convicted in this case. He is the fourth defendant to be sentenced.
On various occasions between 2010 and 2012, the defendant was stopped by Buffalo Police Officers and found to be in possession of marijuana, and between 2015 and 2016, the defendant sold crack cocaine at least ten times and heroin at least ten times in the Towne Gardens to an individual working investigators.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Buffalo Police Department; the New York State Police; the Erie County Sheriff’s Department; the Cheektowaga Police Department; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Field Division; the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Lackawanna Police Department; and the Erie Crime Analysis Center. Additional assistance was provided by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
