Two Rochester men charged with narcotics conspiracy in superseding indictment

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Quentin L. Yancey a/k/a Q, 39, and Johnny B. Mays a/k/a Blaze, 41, both of Rochester, NY, with narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. In addition, Yancey is charged with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises, and six counts of money laundering.

According to the superseding indictment, between 2018, and May 26, 2022, Yancey and Mays conspired with Joseph S. Zaso and others, to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Rochester area. The superseding indictment further states that Yancey utilized two Lyell Avenue residences to conduct his drug trafficking activities. In addition, between June and September 2021, Yancey is accused of making three deposits totaling $42,910 into a federal credit union account in the name of a property management company to conceal the proceeds of his drug trafficking activities.

Yancey and Mays were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and were detained. Joseph Zaso was previously charged and convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Louis A. Testani. The superseding indictment is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Forster, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr.

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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