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...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Corey Harris, 26, of Danville, Illinois, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five years...

MIAMI – Clarence G. Kelley, III, a/k/a “Kemp,” 42, of Lake Worth, Florida, was sentenced by a federal district judge in West Palm Beach to a mandatory term of five years in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute more than a kilogram of cocaine. In March 2021, law...

Charles County, Md., - On September 3, 2021 members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division's Tactical Diversion Squad along with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office arrested Vincent Ippolito, 62, of Waldorf, and Denise Marie Shifflett, 45, of La Plata, in connection with illegally distributing drugs and narcotics. Ippolito...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court today for her role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. Cassidy R. Clayton, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On Oct. 31, 2019...

HOUSTON – A 47-year-old man will forfeit three real properties and pay a $5 million money judgement for running a multi-million dollar synthetic narcotics distribution network, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Daniel Bowles, Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty...

SPOKANE, Wash. - On September 2, 2021, Dr. Janet Sue Arnold, age 63, of Benton City, Washington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute opioid pain medications (specifically, fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, hydromorphone, methylphenidate, and amphetamine mixture) and other controlled substances (carisoprodol and alprazolam), without a...

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...