Texas man pleads guilty for his role in narcotics conspiracy

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Norman Patillo, 45, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10,000,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Adler, Donna Duncan, and Jeffrey E. Intravatola, who are handling the case, stated that between April 2023, and February 20, 2025, Patillo conspired with others to sell cocaine. Patillo primarily transported cocaine to bulk cocaine customers around the U.S., including to co-conspirators in Buffalo, NY. The cocaine, which came from Mexico, was collected by Patillo for transportation in Texas. Patillo would also pick up narcotics proceeds in Buffalo, and elsewhere, to be returned to Texas. Patillo personally made numerous trips to Buffalo to drop bulk cocaine or collect narcotics proceeds.

Patillo was arrested in April 2025, along with six other defendants, including: Winnie Taru Woods a/k/a Ru, Sharron McCullough a/k/a Black, Marlon Holt, Jr. a/k/a Scooter a/k/a Professor, Gary Sudesh Gosine, Sr., Ian Dyer, and Shannell Gosine. Patillo is the first to be convicted. On May 7, 2024, the Ontario County, NY Sheriff's Office seized more than nine kilograms of cocaine and 3,528 grams of pure methamphetamine from Marlon Holt during a traffic stop.

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/Rochester comprises agents and officers from HSI and the FBI with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.

The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Enforcement Division. Additional assistance was provided by the Ontario County, NY, Sheriff's Office, the 23rd Judicial Taskforce, Tennessee, as well as Homeland Security Investigations in NY, and Houston and Austin, Texas.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 14, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.

# # # #