BUFFALO, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jordan Ali, 37, of Arizona, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, as well as a separate charge of money laundering conspiracy, was sentenced to 108 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that between 2004 and Feb. 1, 2012, the defendant conspired with others to distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana in the Buffalo area. In April 2009, Ali and co-defendant Shane Grafman began assisting one another in their drug distribution businesses. Together they obtained the narcotics in the State of Arizona and then utilized several methods to send the marijuana and cocaine to the Buffalo area, including cars, trucks, shipping crates and United States Postal Service parcels. Grafman also utilized private jets to travel from Arizona to Buffalo to pick up his drug proceeds.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately $1,000,000 in United States currency, including $671,385 from a hidden compartment within a Honda Ridgeline driven by Grafman.
The defendant distributed between five and 10 kilograms of cocaine and more than 100 kilograms of marijuana during the course of his crimes.
A total of six defendants have been charged and convicted in this case.
The sentencing is the culmination of investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett; United States Postal Service Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski; Federal Bureau of Investigation; under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen; Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; Erie County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff Tim Howard; Niagara Frontier Transit Authority, under the direction of Chief George Gast; Tempe, Arizona Police Department; Apache County, Arizona Sheriff's Department; and Oklahoma State Police.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
