United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Gilberto Melgarejo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute illegal drugs over the “dark web.” Co-defendant Brooke Gray pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 10, 2021. Melgarejo and Gray participated in dozens of...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Results of the first 60-days of the federal Violence Prevention and Elimination Response (VIPER) Initiative were announced today. VIPER sought to address the dramatic increase in gun violence in the City of Buffalo during the first half of 2021. The initial 60-day period of VIPER covered the...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division announced today that Brian Cintron, 37, and Edwin Junior Gallardo-Ortiz, 35, both of Rochester, NY, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiring and attempting to...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division announced Robert Jones, 48, of Lockport, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. The charge carries carry...

BROOKLYN, NY – An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging Dr. Barry Arnold, a practicing dentist with an office in Valley Stream, New York, with writing illegal prescriptions to women for oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and alprazolam (“Xanax”), a Schedule IV controlled substance...

ROCHESTER, NY –- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan announced today that Soroush Hamedi, 27, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, before Chief...

OMAHA, Neb. – Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division, Lincoln Police Department (LPD), Omaha Police Department (OPD) and Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) are alerting the public to an increase in overdose deaths that began August 10, from fentanyl-laced drugs. No less than eight overdose deaths and 21...

NEW YORK – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Humberto Baez, a produce importer based in Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Allyne R. Ross to 13 years’ imprisonment for conspiring to import and distribute cocaine, and for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. Baez was convicted...

ALBANY, NY – Dr. Larry Bruni has agreed to pay the United States $50,000 to resolve allegations that on numerous occasions from 2016 through 2020, he prescribed controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose or outside the usual course of a professional medical practice, in violation of the Controlled Substances...

OMAHA, Neb. – As students across Nebraska return to school, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division is reminding families to make time for conversation about the dangers of drugs and is encouraging discussions on the risk of overdose associated with counterfeit pills. “Students can face an enormous amount of...