Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BUFFALO, N.Y.‐U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that John Hayward, aka Frizz, 33, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, was sentenced to 168 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Duszkiewicz and Joel L. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that between 2009 and January 23, 2012, Hayward was a member of the LRGP gang, which operates primarily in the area of Lombard, Rother, Playter and Gibson Streets in the City of Buffalo. LRGP was an organization engaged in violent criminal activity, including the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine and the use of firearms.

 

As a member of the LRGP Gang, the defendant began using 318 Sobieski Street as a trap house to manufacture and distribute illegal narcotics including crack cocaine. After numerous police raids, gang members began using other trap houses located at 42 Memorial Drive, 559 Fillmore Avenue and 29 Meyers Street in Buffalo, both within the LRGP territory.

 

Hayward was one of 19 LRGP Gang members and associates charged and convicted in this case.

 

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, New York Field Office and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.