A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Quentin L. Yancey, also known as Q, and Johnny B. Mays, also known as Blaze, both of Rochester, New York, with narcotics conspiracy on June 2. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. Yancey is additionally charged with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and six counts of money laundering.
According to the superseding indictment, between 2018 and May 26, 2022, Yancey and Mays conspired with Joseph S. Zaso and others to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Rochester area. The indictment alleges that Yancey used two Lyell Avenue residences for drug trafficking activities. Between June and September 2021, Yancey is accused of making three deposits totaling $42,910 into a federal credit union account under the name of a property management company to conceal proceeds from drug trafficking.
Yancey and Mays were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., where they were detained pending further proceedings. Joseph Zaso was previously charged and convicted in connection with this case; he is awaiting sentencing.
The case forms part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159 to combat criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling rings operating within the United States or abroad. The task force involves multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; Department of Homeland Security Emergency Removal Operations; Customs and Border Protection; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Secret Service; Diplomatic Security Service—and prosecutions are led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Louis A. Testani are prosecuting this case following an investigation by local police departments alongside several federal agencies named above.
The Justice Department serves as the principal federal agency for law enforcement across more than 50 countries worldwide with over 115,000 employees focused on upholding rule of law, according to its official website. Garland assumed leadership as Attorney General in March 2021.