Homeland Security Task Force investigation leads to charges against six defendants for their roles in an Elmira drug trafficking ring

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Eric J. Barner a/k/a E a/k/a Dree, 40, Ashanique Graham a/k/a Shorty, 30, Geneno Mable, 51, Matthew R. Swinko, 28, and Ryan Palmieri, 36, all of Elmira, NY, were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and a quantity of cocaine. Charged in a separate complaint with conspiracy was Dominic Murphy, 31, also of Elmira. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life, and $10,000,000. Murphy is also charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement began investigating the drug trafficking activities of the defendants in October 2025, as part of an ongoing narcotics trafficking investigation. Identified as the Barner Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), the defendants sold cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, using cellular phones to conduct their drug business, in the Elmira, NY, area. The DTO utilized multiple locations to store and sell narcotics including a former store front on Lake Street, and residences on Baldwin Avenue, Mulberry Street, Lackawanna Avenue, W. Thurston Street, Harper Street.

During the execution of multiple search warrants, investigators seized:

• $152,080.57 in cash
• Approximately 69 grams of cocaine
• Approximately three grams of crack cocaine
• Approximately 646 grams of fentanyl
• Approximately 3,306 grams of methamphetamine
• Approximately 65 grams of psilocybin
• Approximately 19 grams of liquid methadone
• Approximately one gram of MDMA
• Approximately 64 grams of Clonazepam
• 34 firearms, including two ghost guns
• Two pipe bombs
• Soft body armor

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is 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. 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, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Enforcement and Removal Operations, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola. The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Kevin Sucher, and the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kristen Thorne.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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