A Houston, Texas man has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to a major cocaine distribution conspiracy, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York.
Norman Patillo, 45, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine. The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and could result in up to life imprisonment and a fine of $10 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Adler, Donna Duncan, and Jeffrey E. Intravatola stated that Patillo was involved in distributing cocaine from April 2023 through February 20, 2025. Patillo’s role included transporting cocaine from Mexico into Texas and delivering it to customers across the United States, including co-conspirators based in Buffalo, New York. He also collected narcotics proceeds in Buffalo and other locations for transport back to Texas.
Patillo made several trips between Texas and Buffalo as part of these activities before being arrested in April 2025 along with six other individuals: Winnie Taru Woods (also known as Ru), Sharron McCullough (also known as Black), Marlon Holt Jr. (also known as Scooter or Professor), Gary Sudesh Gosine Sr., Ian Dyer, and Shannell Gosine. Patillo is the first among the group to be convicted.
On May 7, 2024, law enforcement seized over nine kilograms of cocaine and more than three kilograms of pure methamphetamine during a traffic stop involving one co-defendant in Ontario County, New York.
The investigation was conducted under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is described as "a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad." According to officials: "Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations... In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children."
HSTF Buffalo/Rochester includes agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with prosecutions led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
The case received investigative support from HSI under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan; Drug Enforcement Administration under Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam; Ontario County Sheriff’s Office; Tennessee's 23rd Judicial Taskforce; as well as HSI offices in New York City, Houston, and Austin.
Sentencing for Norman Patillo is scheduled for August 14, 2026 at 9:30 a.m., before Judge Vilardo.
