Alabama man going to prison for his role in drug conspiracy

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that James Walker, 71, of Huntsville, AL, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, a mixture and substance containing cocaine, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

Between February and July 25, 2018, Walker conspired with Adrian Goudelock, Eric Young, and others, to sell cocaine. The conspiracy involved the transport of bulk quantities of cocaine to multiple areas in the country including Buffalo, NY. Walker owned a commercial tractor-trailer, which was outfitted with a lined hidden compartment for the purpose of concealing bulk cocaine and/or bulk currency. He hired Young, who drove the tractor-trailer to the Western District of New York with bulk cocaine on at least two occasions. Walker told Young about the hidden compartment and directed him to communicate with specified co-conspirators to arrange the logistics of the bulk cocaine deliveries and to retrieve bulk cash in exchange for the bulk cocaine.

Communicating over an encrypted messaging application, Walker directed Young, in June 2018, to make three drops of 20 kilograms each in Cleveland, OH, Buffalo, and New York. On June 21, 2018, the same day law enforcement observed co-conspirators bringing a duffle bag of cocaine into a stash location, law enforcement observed phone calls between Walker and Adrian Goudelock, the bulk cocaine purchaser in Buffalo. Law enforcement learned that the tractor-trailer owned by Walker and operated by Young was in the Western District of New York. On July 25, 2018, Young and the tractor trailer were observed in a parking lot in West Seneca, NY. Law enforcement observed an exchange of duffle bags: one containing 52 packages of U.S. currency, wrapped, taped, and labeled exactly how Walker had told Young they would be packaged. The other duffle bag that was collected from the tractor-trailer by a co-conspirator in Buffalo contained 17 kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement subsequently found the hidden compartment in the rear wall of the sleeper area of the tractor cab that contained three plastic wrapped packages of bulk U.S. currency totaling $145,380, which was payment for a load of cocaine that Young had collected prior to his arrival in Buffalo. In total, law enforcement seized $664,960 from Walker's tractor-trailer.

This case was 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 Emergency 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 was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto; the Erie County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff John Garcia; and Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Unit, under the direction of under the direction of Director Christopher Romosz. Additional assistance was provided by the New York National Guard and Homeland Security Investigations, El Paso, Texas.