DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of New York

For Immediate Release

Thursday, October 8, 2015
William J. Hochul, Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: Barbara Burns

Niagara Falls Man Indicted On Drug and Gun Charges

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a six-count indictment charging Philip Vincent, 37, of Niagara Falls, NY, with manufacturing marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, maintaining a drug premises, possession of a weapon in furtherance of drug trafficking, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Burgasser, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, on December 2, 2014, the U.S. Marshals Violent Felony Fugitive Task Force encountered the defendant while looking for a fugitive defendant. Officers searched Vincent’s 20th Street residence and discovered a .38 caliber revolver along with marijuana plants and crack cocaine.

Vincent was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott and is being held.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of Charles Salina, and the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief Bryan DalPorto.

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

New York Field Division