36 suspects arrested in searches in Clarence, Amherst & Niagara County
Suburban drug dealer operated out of Clarence home, Transit Road plaza
James Williams was all about customer service.
He always made sure his customers got what they wanted — whether they went to his Clarence home, he went to them, or they met in a nearby strip mall parking lot.
The problem, though, is that he was selling cocaine and other drugs, federal authorities allege.
His customers included a snowplow driver for the state, a clothing store owner and several lower-level drug dealers who apparently appreciated his version of drive-up service.
Williams was one of the main targets when 216 law enforcement officers rounded up 36 people in predawn raids Thursday. The drug ring, based in the Amherst area, focused primarily on the Northtowns and Niagara County, authorities said.
If those arrested are convicted as charged, they face up to 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
“The customers were people from all walks of life in the suburbs. We’ve known for a long time that there are people in the suburbs who buy and use drugs, and this case further confirmed it,” said Nancy M. Cote, resident agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in Buffalo.
Though the driveway and garage at his leased home on Greiner Road are filled with vehicles, Williams used rentals — favoring a particular make and model of sport utility vehicle — when he took his business on the road, authorities said.
He was a fixture on weekends in the parking lot of East Gate Plaza, a busy Transit Road strip mall that is home to a Wal-Mart, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Dick’s Sporting Goods, around the corner from where he lived, they said. That location made it easy for him to make a quick trip home if he needed more drugs.
Federal agents were listening in on Williams’ cell phone as he agreed to meet customers in the parking lot.
“Mr. Williams would pull in, [and] there already would be four or five people waiting,” Cote said at a news conference in the U.S. attorney’s office. “He would go up to their cars and give them the drugs.”
Families would be walking by, going shopping, as the drug deals occurred, authorities say.
Williams also sold cocaine from his home and made deliveries farther afield when necessary, they added.
According to police, one customer was a snowplow and dump truck driver for the state Department of Transportation. One day last winter, while the driver was on the job, investigators watched a meeting in a park-and-ride lot off the Thruway near Transit Road.
“He was hauling snow in his dump truck that day and buying a different kind of snow from his dealer,” one police official said.
Since December, Williams has shared the Greiner Road home with his girlfriend and several children. Williams reportedly told his landlord that he worked in maintenance.
The landlord, Shahdad P. Waseh, expressed surprise at the bust Thursday.
“I’m stunned,” said Waseh, who lives a few doors away. “I never noticed anything unusual. He always pays his rent on time. You can’t trust anyone these days.”
The yearlong police investigation that snared Williams started in Niagara County with a different target.
The Niagara County Drug Task Force was focusing on Melinda Donovan, a Lockport clothing store owner who lives on North French Road in Amherst. Her home was among the four searched Thursday.
“We discovered that many of the people lived in Amherst and also were selling in the Amherst area,” Cote said.
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