A North Tonawanda man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he sold fentanyl and cocaine that led to the deaths of three people in 2020.
The indictment charges Ernest Green, 41, also known by the street names of Fire, Burn, Ern the Burn, Dread, and B Love, with distribution of fentanyl causing death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life behind bars.
Green is already serving a sentence of 10 years in federal prison for a 2022 conviction on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Buffalo on Monday and remains in custody.
Federal prosecutors said that between 2019 and May 27, 2020, Green “conspired with others” to engage in selling fentanyl and cocaine. In the course of that drug dealing, the prosecutors said, on May 27, 2020, Green sold fentanyl which caused the death of three people.
The victims are identified in the indictment only by their initials, J.Y., T.M. and D.R.
“Fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and other illegal narcotics are deadly poisons that are finding their way into our communities and onto our streets because of defendants like Ernest Green,” said Trini Ross, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York.
Green is the fifth defendant in the last six months to be accused of selling fentanyl and cocaine that resulted in a death.
In October, federal drug agents charged Michael Paonessa, 33, of Niagara Falls, with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of fentanyl. At that time, investigators said Paonessa sold fentanyl and cocaine that led to the death of a Town of Tonawanda woman identified as R.A.
The federal agents described Paonessa as “a narcotics trafficker who sells fentanyl.” In August, Paonessa was convicted of multiple drug offenses in Niagara County Court.
Federal prosecutors have also recently charged three other men with distribution of cocaine and fentanyl that caused the death of three people and caused “two individuals who overdosed to be revived with multiple doses of Narcan.”
“Our office is working every day with our law enforcement partners at all levels to track down these defendants, whose actions show no regard for human lives,” Ross said. “This office will dedicate time and resources to the prosecution of all individuals who commit these types of crimes in our community.”