BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Mark Robertson, 41, of Lockport, NY, was sentenced to 3 years supervised released with 6 months electronic monitoring, for his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin. Danielle Barton, 31, formerly of League City, Texas, was sentenced to 9 months in prison, 1 year supervised release, and fined $5,000, for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both sentences were imposed by Chief Judge William M. Skretny, United States District Court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that the sentences imposed today were the result of an investigation into narcotics trafficking in Niagara County and the City of Buffalo conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Niagara County Drug Taskforce. Robertson distributed heroin in the Lockport, New York area from July 2009 through August 2010, which was supplied to him by co-defendants Damian Ard and John Cruz. Barton, meanwhile, made cash deposits of approximately $131,000, which were proceeds of Will Johnson’s drug activities, into her bank account.
In total, investigators charged twenty-four defendants in connection with this investigation, twenty-two of whom have been convicted. The leader of the narcotics trafficking operation, Will Johnson, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Sept. 13, 2013.
This conviction is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
