Catskill man pleads guilty to drugs, firearm charges

ALBANY, N.Y. >> A Catskill man is facing at least five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million in a drug and firearms case, U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman said Thursday.

Atniel Pagan, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday, Nov. 2, to possessing and intending to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, and to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a press release.

The announcement was made by Freedman; David L. McNulty, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of New York; John B. DeVito, special agent in charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins.

Pagan admitted to possessing 225 grams of cocaine and 22 grams of cocaine base that he intended to sell at an apartment in Albany. Pagan, a previously convicted felon, further admitted to possessing a loaded privately-manufactured, semi-automatic, AR-style rifle, and a loaded privately-manufactured, semi-automatic pistol (also known as a ghost gun) in order to guard against the potential theft of his drugs and drug money, prosecutors said.

Pagan was arrested in 2022 at his apartment by the U.S. Marshals executing a state arrest warrant, and Albany Police subsequently obtained a warrant to search the apartment.

Pagan faces at least five years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least three years and up to life, when he is sentenced on March 1, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci in U.S. District Court. Pagan’s sentence will be imposed based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors, according to the press release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and Albany Police Department, with assistance provided by ATF and the Greene County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon is prosecuting this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, prosecutors said.

“PSN is an evidencebased program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime,” prosecutors said.