Schuele Boys Gang Associate Pleads Guilty to Distributing Drugs Out of Variety Store

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Brown, aka Pee Wee, 52, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $1,000,000 fine.

“From time to time, residents of certain neighborhoods have reported their concerns about corner stores being a front for crime,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. As this case demonstrates, law enforcement welcomes such information, and is committed to closing those locations which are engaged in illegal activities.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Burgasser, who is handling the case, stated that between June 2013 and July 23, 2014, the defendant bought quantities of cocaine from co-defendant Damario James. Brown then re-distributed the cocaine from his residence in Buffalo as well as from his store “Pee Wee’s Variety Store.”

The Schuele Boys Gang, which operated in the Schuele Street area of the East Side of Buffalo, is believed to be responsible for multiple acts of violence and the distribution of illegal narcotics including cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana.

Brown is one of 28 Schuele Boys Gang members and associates arrested in this case. To date, 13 of the defendants have been convicted.

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.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force which includes representatives of the Amherst Police Department; the Buffalo Police Department; U.S. Border Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Cheektowaga Police Department; the Erie County Sheriff’s Department; the Hamburg Police Department; the Lancaster Police Department; the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police; the New York State Department of Correctional Services; the New York State Police; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Additional assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the UnitedStates Marshal Service, the Lackawanna Police Department, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department.