Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine and Gun Charges
BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Luis Miguel Cruz Del Moral, 38, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan E. Leydecker, who is handling the case, stated that in October 2004, Cruz Del Moral was convicted of Attempted Robbery in Puerto Rico and is legally prohibited from possession firearms and ammunition. On September 17, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at Cruz Del Moral’s Ontario Street residence. During the search, they recovered five firearms and ammunition, and drug paraphernalia. At the same time, a search warrant was also executed at a residence on South Lane in Buffalo, where SWAT Team members encountered Cruz Del Moral. During that search, they recovered a ripped-open plastic bag from a toilet and observed the toilet bowl lined with suspected cocaine. Investigators also recovered a loaded firearm, a quantity of cocaine, two cocaine presses, a digital scale, and $7,111 in U.S. currency. Law enforcement then searched Cruz Del Moral’s vehicle and found another firearm, ammunition, and glassine envelopes.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito, New York Field Division; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Stansbury; and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 22, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. before Judge Arcara.
