ROCHESTER, NY – In a shocking turn of events, 39-year-old Angelo Cruz of Rochester, NY pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. According to court documents, the charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years and a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced the guilty plea in a statement, saying the case demonstrates the success of using federal tools to combat violent gang activity. Assistant U.S. Attorney Everardo A. Rodriguez stated that while pleading guilty in court to the drug charge, the defendant also admitted to assisting in the murder of Francisco Santos at the Seneca Indian Reservation in Erie County, NY, in October 1998.
The murder was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Rochester area, which included cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, from 1993 to March 2011. The victim, Francisco Santos, was a member of the drug distribution conspiracy and was believed to have stolen drugs and money from other members of the conspiracy.
In retaliation for the theft, members of the conspiracy assaulted Santos and slashed Santos across the side of the head with a knife. Sometime after the beating, the co-conspirator who slashed Santos on the head was arrested for the assault. To further retaliate for the original theft and to prevent Santos from testifying against the co-conspirator on the assault charge, Cruz admitted that he and a group of other co-conspirators found Santos and drove him to the Seneca Indian Reservation.
Once at the reservation, they took Santos down a dirt path behind some trees where Santos was stabbed to death and buried in a shallow grave. Cruz admitted to having been present and observed Santos being stabbed while he was acting as a lookout.
The plea is the culmination of a joint investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano Reid, and the Rochester Police Department, Violent Crime Team/Firearms Suppression Unit, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
On January 4, 2016, Cruz will be sentenced before Judge Geraci. The case highlights the dark underbelly of drug trafficking and the violent consequences of such activity.
Related Federal Cases
- Waldemar Pabon, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine, New York 2014 · Texas
- Shannell Gosine, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, New York 2023 · Tennessee
- Aaron Hicks, Conspiracy to Distribute Five Kilograms or More of Cocaine, New York 2014 · Texas
- Eli Clark, Crack Cocaine Possession with Intent to Distribute, New York 2016 · Kansas
- Anthony Perry, Crack Cocaine Possession with Intent to Distribute, New York 2023 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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