CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Gonzalo Velazquez-Cabrera a/k/a Bebe, 39, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and distributing, 500 grams or more of cocaine and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve 153 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth T. Molisani, who is handling the case, stated that between March and December 2015, the defendant conspired with others to sell cocaine. Velazquez-Cabrera, as a leader of the conspiracy, purchased and distributed approximately 125 grams of cocaine every week, obtaining, storing, and distributing the cocaine at his West Delavan Avenue residence. The defendant supplied co-defendants with cocaine so they could conduct street-level narcotics sales. Velazquez-Cabrera also personally engaged in the daily sale of varying quantities of cocaine both at his residence and on the west side of Buffalo.
In August of 2015, the defendant became embroiled in a feud with a rival drug dealer who also operated on the west side of Buffalo. Following verbal arguments that centered on Velazquez-Cabrera’s encroachment into the drug dealing territory of his rival, the defendant escalated the conflict to violence. On August 27, 2015, Velazquez-Cabrera and a co-defendant exchanged gunfire with the rival drug dealer. In a text message exchange that followed between Velazquez-Cabrera and the rival drug dealer, the defendant declared the rival drug dealer was a dead man.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.
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