Rochester Man Going To Prison For Over 7 Years On Gun Trafficking And Drug Charges

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Carlos Cruz-Garcia, 37, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to distribute, and possessing with intent to distribute, cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Hartford, who is handling the case, stated that between 2015 and September 27, 2018, the defendant conspired with others to distribute cocaine, shipped in the mail from Puerto Rico, in the Rochester area.

On September 27, 2018, Cruz-Garcia received a package containing approximately 500 grams of cocaine at his place of employment, “The Landing of Brighton,” on Westfall Road in Rochester. The defendant took the package to his residence, where law enforcement officers arrested Cruz-Garcia and seized the package. The cocaine was secreted inside of an electronic device.

The defendant also helped launder tens of thousands of dollars for the drug conspiracy in an attempt to conceal the conspiracy’s money. At the time of Cruz-Garcia’s arrest, law enforcement officers found a loaded Glock .40 caliber pistol, which the defendant possessed in connection with the drug conspiracy.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the Boston Division; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La’Ron Singletary; the Greece Police Department , under the direction of Chief Patrick D. Phelan; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter; Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Kevin M. Henderson; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eric Laughton.