(WNY News Now) – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a second superseding indictment, expanding the charges against two Western New York men previously accused of multiple drug offenses in Buffalo, NY, and Jamestown, NY.
Buffalo – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross disclosed that a federal grand jury has issued a second superseding indictment against Joseph Zaso, also known as Joey Cracks or Sosa, aged 39, from Buffalo, NY, and Kyle N. Lewis, aged 31, from Jamestown, NY. The new charges include severe allegations of firearms use and document concealment.
Zaso, facing a mandatory life sentence, is accused of brandishing firearms to further drug trafficking and concealing material facts in his monthly probation reports while under U.S. Probation supervision. Lewis, on the other hand, faces a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life, charged with narcotics conspiracy.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, the prosecutor overseeing the case, explained that the indictments, including the latest superseding one, allege that between September 2018 and May 26, 2022, Zaso orchestrated an illegal narcotics operation in the Buffalo and Jamestown areas. The operation involved conspiracies with Lewis and others to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Residences at 12 Locust Street and 110 Fairview Avenue in Jamestown, as well as 48 Laurel Street in Buffalo, were allegedly used for drug trafficking activities. Zaso is additionally accused of selling heroin that caused serious bodily injury to an individual identified as B.K.
Both Zaso and Lewis are presently in custody.
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