Dorchester man sentenced for federal narcotics and firearms charges
BOSTON – A Dorchester, Massachusetts man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a wide-ranging operation that distributed heroin and fentanyl throughout Cape Cod.
James Ramirez, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 66 months in prison and five years of supervised release. The Court also ordered forfeiture of Ramirez’s Boston condominium, his Ford F-150 truck, and a money judgment of $250,000. In November 2017, Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Ramirez was one of four defendants arrested as part of a drug ring that shipped large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin from Boston to Cape Cod, where it was then redistributed. Ramirez and alleged co-defendant Kelvin Chalas, aka "Jose Solivan," supplied drugs to Alex and Kevin Fraga, brothers located on Cape Cod. On Aug. 16, 2017, Kevin and Alex Fraga were arrested by federal investigators after large quantities of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine were seized. Approximately one week later, Chalas and Ramirez were arrested and law enforcement seized fentanyl pills and powdered fentanyl from a drug stash house in Dorchester, Ramirez’s home in Dorchester, and a safety deposit box at Santander Bank in Dorchester, where officers investigators also seized a pistol.
Alex Fraga was sentenced to 131 months in prison and Kevin Fraga was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Chala’s case remains pending and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle; United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe made the announcement today. The Brewster, Harwich, Sandwich, Mashpee, Chatham, Yarmouth, and Barnstable Police Departments and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance with the investigation.
