John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, Boston.
A Haverhill man was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston for his role in an opioid trafficking conspiracy involving the distribution of fentanyl, heroin and oxycodone across Massachusetts and Florida.
Jesus Gonzalez, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to a little more than eight years in prison and four years of supervised release. In April 2018, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and/or 40 grams of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, and conspiracy to launder money.
As WHAV reported at the time, Gonzalez pleaded guilty at the end of April.
Gonzalez was arrested in June 2016 for his role in a, what U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling says, widespread conspiracy involving heroin, fentanyl, and opioid pill trafficking, as well as money laundering in Massachusetts and Florida. From at least 2014, Gonzalez obtained heroin and fentanyl from sources in Massachusetts and conspired with others to distribute the narcotics, including approximately 230 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in November 2015. Gonzalez also participated in a conspiracy to obtain oxycodone pills from Florida, have them shipped to Massachusetts and then distributed. Finally, Gonzalez participated in a conspiracy to launder and conceal the proceeds of the sale of narcotics by using funnel bank accounts to send money to Florida.
Lelling’s office thanked State, Haverhill and Methuen Police, among others, for assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadine Pellegrini and Craig Estes prosecuted the case.