Reinaldo Suarez

Convicted and sentenced. Suarez, known as “Popeye,” was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine across Rochester and to illegally possessing a shotgun as a repeat felon.

Introduction

Reinaldo Suarez, aka “Popeye,” 54, of Rochester, New York, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and 500 grams or more of cocaine, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm . Chief U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford imposed the sentence, announced October 23, 2026 by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo . Prosecutors say Suarez was a wholesale link in Rochester’s drug supply — taking bulk product from co-conspirators and distributing it across the city and beyond for nearly four months in 2024 .

Background Information

According to the plea agreement, between March 1 and June 26, 2024, Suarez conspired with others to sell cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine throughout the Rochester area and elsewhere . He obtained bulk quantities from various co-conspirators and then distributed them to others, using an automobile bay on Avis Street in Rochester as his meeting point with other dealers . The operation ended on June 26, 2024, when investigators executed multiple search warrants, including one at Suarez’s Knickerbocker Avenue residence and one at the Avis Street auto bay . Suarez already carried one prior felony conviction in federal court and four prior felonies in New York State court, and was legally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The June 26, 2024 searches produced the case’s evidence in a single sweep: a loaded shotgun, ammunition, approximately 1,100 grams of fentanyl, approximately 120 grams of methamphetamine, approximately six grams of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia . Beyond the searched locations, law enforcement seized approximately four kilograms of cocaine and approximately 498 grams of fentanyl during the investigation as a whole . The quantities — more than a kilogram of fentanyl alone, in a drug supply where two milligrams can be lethal — placed Suarez’s conduct at the center of the region’s opioid enforcement posture .

His guilty plea covered the conspiracy counts and the felon-in-possession count, and Judge Wolford’s 121-month sentence — just over ten years — resolves the prosecution’s charging exposure in a single term . Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. McGrath prosecuted the case .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The sentencing was presented as the product of a multi-agency push: Homeland Security Investigations under Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone, the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff David Cirencione, the New York State Police under Major Kevin Sucher, and the Rochester Police Department under Chief David Smith . No public statement from Suarez or his defense appears in the release, and the government did not announce charges against the co-conspirators named in the plea’s narrative . The public consequence is a decade in federal prison and a permanent superseding record: five prior felonies plus a sixth federal trafficking conviction .

Current Status

Suarez, 54, is serving a 121-month federal sentence for the drug conspiracy and the firearm possession, imposed by Chief Judge Wolford on his guilty plea . The release does not announce a supervised-release term, a designated facility, or restitution, and does not name the co-conspirators from whom he obtained bulk quantities . As a repeat felon convicted of possessing a loaded shotgun, he faces the federal system’s firearms prohibitions for life .

Impact on Their Career/Life

At 54, after five prior felony convictions, Suarez’s sixth conviction removes him from the street economy he ran out of an Avis Street auto bay for what will likely be the remainder of his working life. The government’s published record ties his name to more than a kilogram and a half of fentanyl seized in a single enforcement action, a quantity that defines the deadly scale of the trade he pleaded guilty to supplying. His “Popeye” alias — the name the street knew — is now part of a federal sentencing record.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, “Rochester drug trafficker going to prison for more than 10 years,” October 23, 2026 — source