BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Bonnie R. Gordon, 33, of Ransomville, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute over 100 kilograms of marijuana before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a mandatory minimum five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a fine of $2,000,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Moscati, who is handling the case, stated that Gordon was part of a group of individuals who smuggled and transported marijuana from Canada to the United States, often hidden inside the spare tire of a car. The car would then be driven to one of several locations in Niagara County where the marijuana was then distributed and sold to others. The defendant admitted that the marijuana conspiracy existed for more than seven years beginning sometime in 2002.
Gordon was arrested in December 2011 along with five others. She is the first defendant to be convicted.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Christopher Cummings; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; the Niagara County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour; the United States Border Patrol, under the direction of Chief Border Patrol Agent Kevin W. Oaks; Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of James T. Engleman, Director of Field Operations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano; the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief Bryan DalPorto; the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in-Charge Edward T. Bradley; Toronto Police Service, under the direction of Chief William Blair; Niagara Regional Police, under the direction of Chief Jeffrey McGuire; Peel Regional Police, under the direction of Chief Jennifer Evans; Ontario Provincial Police, under the direction of Commissioner Chris Lewis; and the Canada Border Service Agency, under the direction of Rick Comerford, Regional Director General, Southern Ontario Region.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 1, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
