LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Lieutenant Martin E. McKee upon the
occasion of his designation as the recipient of the Superintendent's
Unit Citation Award at the 35th Annual New York State Police Awards Day
Ceremony on May 19, 2011

WHEREAS, The quality and sanctity of community life are cherished
values, worthy of safeguarding; this Legislative Body is moved to honor
those who preserve and protect such values, lauding particularly their
unwavering courage and dedication in the daily performance of their
duties; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Lieutenant Martin E. McKee, of the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team
of Western New York (CNET Western), upon the occasion of his designation
as the recipient of the Superintendent's Unit Citation Award; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Martin E. McKee was presented with this esteemed
award at the 35th Annual State Police Awards Day Ceremony, held at the
New York State Police Academy in Albany on Thursday, May 19, 2011, on
behalf of the Members of the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team and
the Gun Investigation Unit of Western New York in recognition of their
outstanding police work; and
WHEREAS, During January 2010, while conducting parallel investigations
into the resurgence of heroin on the west side of the City of Buffalo,
CNET Western and the Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) of the New York
State Attorney General's Office combined forces to work the case joint-
ly; and
WHEREAS, Following controlled purchases and electronic eavesdropping,
a suspect was identified as a multi-kilogram source for heroin in the
cities of Buffalo and Rochester; a search warrant was executed which
resulted in the recovery of two kilograms of heroin, 23 grams of crack
cocaine, and a defaced handgun; and
WHEREAS, The suspect, by then in custody, agreed to cooperate and
identified a subject from New York City as his source of supply; as part
of the continuing investigation, the cooperating source made a
controlled purchase of two kilograms of heroin from the target in New
York City, who was quickly taken into custody along with two of his
co-conspirators; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the controlled purchase of the two kilograms
of heroin, subsequent search warrants in New York City led to the recov-
ery of three more kilograms of heroin; in total, seven kilograms of
heroin valued at $1,750,000.00 have been recovered as a result of this
investigation, which remains ongoing; and
WHEREAS, In March 2010, when three Jamaican citizens were brutally
executed in the Town of Greece, New York, the Greece Police Department
contacted CNET Western for assistance; subsequently, CNET Investigator
Scott Shepard utilized his confidential sources from prior investi-
gations into Jamaican narcotics trafficking to gather critical informa-
tion; the information developed by CNET led to the identification of
suspects from outside New York State who were found to have been in
Rochester during the time of the homicides; and
WHEREAS, Investigator Shepard assisted with the Federal Narcotics
conspiracy investigation by developing information and cooperating
defendants to support the homicide charges; in August 2010, three
defendants were charged in Federal Court with Murder in Furtherance of a
Marihuana Conspiracy and Murder While Engaged in a Marihuana Conspiracy
of 1,000 kilos or more of marihuana, both of which are Capital Crimes
under Federal Statutes; and

WHEREAS, In June 2010, the Resident Agent in Charge of the Buffalo
Office of the DEA requested assistance with an investigation into the
cross border smuggling of cocaine from the State of Florida into Ontar-
io, Canada; a narcotics trafficking organization, based in Toronto,
wired $350,000.00 to a DEA informant in Fort Lauderdale as down payment
for 50 kilograms of cocaine and CNET Western was asked by DEA to provide
undercover investigators to pose as buyers who were capable of supplying
and transporting over one and a quarter million dollars worth of cocaine
into Canada; and
WHEREAS, Senior Investigator Charles Torres and Investigator Clinton
Calloway filled this role and negotiated with two Canadian citizens,
relative to their request that the cocaine be delivered to Toronto;
ultimately, the Canadian targets were convinced to accept delivery in
Western New York, where they were arrested for Conspiracy to Distribute
Cocaine; and
WHEREAS, In December 2010 an informant forwarded information that two
Massachusetts residents had traveled to Western New York to sell heroin;
the two suspects were located within hours of receipt of the information
with the assistance of the Buffalo Impact Troopers assigned to Troop A
and were subsequently arrested for Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance 1st Degree after their motel room in Niagara Falls was
searched and found to contain 120 grams of heroin, worth approximately
$30,000.00; and
WHEREAS, Throughout 2010, CNET Western took a proactive stance toward
the growing trend of narcotics traffickers utilizing commercial shippers
to deliver drugs to Western New York residents; to that end, CNET West-
ern partnered with the commercial shippers as well as out of state law
enforcement to interdict 18 kilograms of cocaine and 913 pounds of proc-
essed marihuana and, following the seizures of the drugs, controlled
deliveries were attempted resulting in the arrest of nine individuals
for Criminal Possession of Marihuana 1st Degree; and
WHEREAS, In addition to these cases and six additional long term
eavesdropping investigations, CNET Western has continued its mandate to
assist local agencies with street level narcotics enforcement, utilizing
undercover investigators and confidential informants to make 443 narcot-
ic purchases, resulting in more than 250 arrests; and
WHEREAS, In total, CNET Western was responsible for the seizure of
approximately 16 pounds of heroin, 46 pounds of cocaine, 900 pounds of
marihuana, 2900 marihuana plants, 10 firearms and $117,000 in United
States currency, contributing to 2010 being an extraordinary year of
quality cases and significant seizures by CNET Western; and
WHEREAS, The outstanding and solid leadership of Lieutenant Martin E.
McKee and his staff of Senior Investigators, combined with the outstand-
ing investigative skills and dedication of the talented New York State
Police Members assigned to CNET Western truly merit the Superintendent's
Unit Citation Award; and
WHEREAS, In keeping with the finest traditions of the New York State
Police, Lieutenant Martin E. McKee and all the CNET Western staff have
distinguished themselves by their exemplary achievements and outstanding
performance on behalf of the State of New York and the community they so
faithfully and courageously serve; and
WHEREAS, The dedicated efforts of public servants, such as Lieutenant
Martin E. McKee and the CNET Western staff, who unselfishly devote their
lives to the preservation of order and the protection of others are
worthy of the full praise of this Legislative Body and the people of the
State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Lieutenant Martin E. McKee of the Community Narcotics Enforcement

Team of Western New York upon the occasion of his designation as the
recipient of the Superintendent's Unit Citation Award on behalf of the
Members of CNET Western and the Gun Investigation Unit of Western New
York at the 35th Annual State Police Awards Day Ceremony on May 19,
2011; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Lieutenant Martin E. McKee, the Community Narcotics Enforce-
ment Team of Western New York, and the Gun Investigation Unit of Western
New York.