Memorial to open at African Burial Ground

The state Appellate Division in the Fourth Judicial Department has denied the appeal of a man convicted of selling drugs in Cayuga County, but it did reduce his prison sentence.

Shabazz Vasquez, 33, of Rochester, was convicted in 2004 of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, drug possession charges and fourth-degree conspiracy by a Cayuga County jury and sentenced to 12 1/2 to 25 years in state prison.

Vasquez was arrested after undercover officers witnessed him selling crack cocaine in Auburn.