Omar Vazquez-Baez, also known as Tutu, has been sentenced to 146 months in prison for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking operation and for failing to appear in court. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vazquez-Baez received 120 months for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, five kilograms or more of cocaine. An additional 46 months were added due to his failure to appear at his original sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch explained that between July and September 2017, Vazquez-Baez worked with others to distribute cocaine in the Niagara Falls area as part of an organization led by Cesar Rivera-Figueroa. “I have some lockers for you to take a look at. I already gave six, but for you to see them and offer them around…I’m like a display cabinet right now,” Rivera-Figueroa said during a phone call intercepted by investigators on September 13, 2017. After this conversation, Vazquez-Baez met with Rivera-Figueroa and collected packaged quantities of cocaine.
Later that day, Vazquez-Baez contacted Rivera-Figueroa again seeking more cocaine but was told there was none left. On September 29, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Vazquez-Baez’s residence where they found a firearm and ammunition, multiple quantities of cocaine and marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and several cell phones.
The investigation involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Buffalo Police Department, and New York State Police.
