Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announced that 46 year old Debra Piatek of 1200 Penora Street, Depew, pleaded guilty, as charged, to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in or Near School Grounds and two counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree before Supreme Court Justice Christopher Burns.  These are highest charges for which she could have been convicted had she gone to trial. 

Piatek admitted that on September 28, 2012, she sold Suboxone pills to an undercover narcotics detective near Union East Elementary School.  Suboxone is a brand name for buprenorphine, a narcotic preparation found in Schedule II of the Public Health Law.  It is often used to manage opiate addiction.  It is increasingly found to be a drug of abuse, particularly among high school and college students.  She also admitted selling buprenorphine to undercover narcotics detectives on October 22 and 23, 2012. 

The case was successfully prosecuted by ADA Ryan Haggerty.  Piatek faces a maximum prison sentence of 27 years when she is sentenced before Justice Burns on September 4, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.