Beau Jones (left) and Matt Jones

BUFFALO – A Jamestown man will serve more than eight years in federal prison after being convicted on drug possession charges.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 34 year-old Beau Jones was sentenced Friday in Federal Court. Jones was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine after he was arrested Dec. 1, 2016 in Jamestown. Both  Beau Jones and his brother, Matthew Jones, were involved with drug trafficking operation that saw a shipment of more than 360 grams of methamphetamine delivered via U.S. mail to a residence at 70 Colfax St.

Matthew S. Jones was previously convicted and also sentenced to serve 100 months in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney James Kennedy, Jr. announced that 21 year-old Michael Gonzalez-Colon received his sentence Monday in U.S. District Court. Colon was convicted earlier this year of of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The charges stem from an incident that took place July 20, 2015 when Colon traveled with co-defendants Dimas Colon-Cruz and Denis Cruz, from Erie to Dunkirk on stolen all-terrain vehicles. Shortly after arriving in Dunkirk, the ATV’s were seized by the Dunkirk Police Department. The three men then assaulted two people in Dunkirk, striking both with a firearm, while also stealing a vehicle owned by one of the victims. The three were also connected to stealing another vehicle from a business in Fredonia. The stolen vehicles were recovered in Erie and an investigation led to the arrest of all three men.

Charges are still pending against Dimas Colon-Cruz and Denis Cruz.

(Image from WIVB)

(MEDIA RELEASE)

BUFFALO – Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today former City of Dunkirk Mayor Richard L. Frey, 85, of Dunkirk, NY, who was convicted of wire fraud involving a scheme to defraud his mayoral campaign and his supporters by stealing campaign contributions for his personal benefit, was sentenced to six months home confinement by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $54,361.30.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Fabian and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was the City of Dunkirk mayor from January 2002 until January 2012. During that time, Frey had substantial personal debt.

From January 2003, to June 2012, the defendant devised and executed a scheme to defraud the co-owners of a hospitality company that owned a hotel in Dunkirk and the owner of a food production company in Dunkirk by inducing them to make contributions to his mayoral and other political campaigns. After receiving checks from these individuals, Frey, rather than depositing the funds into a campaign or official account, simply spent them for his own personal benefit. The contributions totaled $54,361.30. In addition, Frey failed to report or disclose the contributions on his campaign disclosure reports, which is required of local candidates for public office.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brad Geary.

Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. say 33 year-old Sergiy Bezrukov faces federal charges related to conspiracy to defraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.

Bezrukov is accused of operating two offices in Western New York and sending solicitation letters under various false and fictitious names, offering to assist small businesses with restructuring high interest loans.

After the small businesses agreed to work with the defendant and his company, Bezrukov allegedly withdrew sums of money from the accounts of the small businesses and used those funds for purposes not associated with assisting the small businesses.

In total, Bezrukov allegedly scammed approximately 200 victims out of $1.2 million dollars.

The charges again him carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Beau Jones (left) and Matthew Jones

BUFFALO – Two Jamestown men have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly using the U.S. Postal Service to have drugs delivered to their home, with the purpose to sell them in the Jamestown area.

On Monday, the office of Acting U.S. Attorney James Kennedy, Jr. announced that a federal grand jury returned a three count indictment charging two brothers – 30 year-old Matthew Jones and 32 year-old Beau Jones – with narcotics conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000,000.

The two were arrested on December 1, 2016, after a shipment of more than 360 grams of methamphetamine was delivered, via the U.S. mail, to Beau Jones’ residence at 70 Colfax in Jamestown.

Shortly after the delivery, Jones was arrested during a traffic stop and the parcel containing the methamphetamine was discovered in the backseat of his vehicle. Matthew Jones was arrested later that day during a separate trafic stop. A safe was found in the trunk of his car containing an additional quantity of approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine.

The two were arraigned in federal court and are being held without bail.

Jonathon Conklin (left) and Charles Sanford (right).

BUFFALO – The two homeless men who are accused of killing a member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra during a home burglary will be held without bail. That after both 43 year-old Jonathan Conklin and 30 year-old Charles Sanford appeared in Buffalo Federal Court Thursday for a detention hearing on federal charges related to carjacking, using a gun during a violent crime and bringing a stolen vehicle across state line.

According to an article in Friday’s Jamestown Post-Journal, prosecutors used the hearing to provide details into the crime and convince the court that bail should not be given. The two have not yet been formally charged with murder, as a county grand jury is still considering state murder charges.

However, according to today’s report, County Sheriff Joe Gerace has said that both men have confessed to committing the crime against 61 year-old Mary Whitaker, a concert violinist from New York City who spent her summers at Chautauqua Institution and lived off grounds at her home on Titus Rd. in the town of Westfield, just north of the village of Sherman.

The two stand accused of showing up at Whitaker’s home during the early morning of Aug. 20. Conklin hid out of sight while Sanford knocked on her door and when she answered, he claimed that his car had broken down. When Whitaker let him use her cell phone, Conklin is accused of coming out of his hiding spot and shooting Whitaker in the Torso. She was also shot a second time in the leg. Authorities also accuse Sanford of then stabbing Whitaker in the neck. After leaving Whitaker for dead and making off with her credit cards and vehicle, the two men returned to Erie. They were arrested in Erie two days later following an investigation.

Both Conklin and Sanford had previous run-ins with the law. Conklin has been arrested in the past for burglary charges, while Sanford is a convicted sex offender, convicted of statutory sexual assault in 2012.

According to Friday’s article, a preliminary hearing for the federal charges has been scheduled for Sept. 9.

According to news reports, Sheriff deputies Friday afternoon named both 43-year-old Jonathan M. Conklin and 30-year-old Charles Sanford as suspects in the case. Sanford’s residence is listed as an Erie address while Conklin’s residence was unknown at the time of his arrest. The two were arrested separately in Erie, Pa. following a two-day investigation, with authorities locating Conklin’s car in Erie and also learning that her credit cards had been used in the hours following the shooting. Authorities went to the businesses where the credit cards had been used and were able to place one of the suspects at the location where the card had been used.

The two will be charged with stealing property and taking it across state lines, car jacking and murdering its owner and using a firearm during a crime of violence. They face up to life in prison if convicted. They were to be arraigned Friday night in Federal Court in Buffalo.

Chautauqua County sheriff deputies began their investigation into the shooting death of Whitaker immediately following the discovery of her body at her residence. Authorities say she was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the chest. Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace said during the news conference that Whitaker was likely being forced to give information at the time of her murder.

Whitaker was a long-time member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra at Chautauqua Institution, where she played violin. She stayed at the Titus Rd. home during the summer season and lived in New York City the rest of the year.

In addition to the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s office working on the case, investigators with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office in Pennsylvania are provided assistance, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Titus Road is located just north of the village of Sherman and a section of it is located in the town of Sherman. However, according to the news report, the scene of the crime was on the section of the road that lies in the town of Westfield.

Local investigators had accused the four of conspiring to and carrying out a contract killing of Eagle Street resident Quincy Turner. The four men are  Jose “Noelle” Martinez, Angel Luis “Bate” Marcial, Felix J. “Lolo” Vasquez and Carlos A. Jorge “Nito” Canales. Last week a jury in Buffalo federal court found each of the four not guilty.

During the trial, federal prosecutors attempted to prove that the four were allegedly involved in drug trafficking and knew that Turner had become an informant against them. As a result, they took his live in May 2008. A defense attorney in the case said the four were found not guilty largely due to a lack of evidence or motive, connecting the men to the killing.

Martinez, who was accused of issuing the contract for the killing, was found guilty on a related drug charge.

Turner, who was 31 at the time of his death, left behind a fiancee and two sons.

Supreme Court Justice, Nuremberg Prosecutor and country lawyer - Robert H. Jackson.

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) announced legislation he introduced naming the new federal courthouse in Buffalo, NY for Justice Robert H. Jackson has passed a second hurdle in the House of Representatives and will now move to the Floor for full consideration.

On March 1 Higgins’ Courthouse bill was approved unanimously by the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management.  On Thursday, the legislation won unanimous approval by the full committee.

Congressman Higgins fought for the federal funding needed to construct the new courthouse in Buffalo, testifying before the House Budget Committee in February 2007 and later pushing for passage of the resolution that gave the final green light on the $137 million project. Construction at the site began later that year and the building opened to the public on November 28, 2011.