ALBANY, NEW YORK – Danielle Simonson, age 52, of Fort Ann, New York, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Carl Junction, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm. Chet Edwin Mercer, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Thursday, Feb. 29, to 12 years in federal prison without parole. On Oct. 12...

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Alfredo Valdez, 46, of Providence, R.I. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl...

BOSTON – A Fall River man has pleaded guilty to his role in a drug distribution conspiracy involving oxycodone pills. Austin Gonsalves, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for May...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today issued a letter to e-commerce companies regarding the sale of pill presses. As regulated entities under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), e-commerce platforms are generally required to comply with CSA recordkeeping, identification, and reporting requirements on the distribution, importation, and exportation of...

CONCORD, N.H. – Thirteen defendants have been indicted in connection with drug trafficking organizations out of Manchester and Concord, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Over the past week and a half, law enforcement arrested nine of these defendants on conspiracies to distribute controlled substance charges, namely methamphetamine and fentanyl...

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted to his role in a racketeering conspiracy and to possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon, Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the DEA New Jersey Field Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced...

MILFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that WINIFER ACOSTA JIMINEZ, 29, and OVIDALIS JIMINEZ PUJOLS, 38, both of New York, have been charged by...

BOSTON – A Boston-area man has pleaded guilty to his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang. Daronde Bethea, a/k/a “Freeze,” 32, of Boston and Brockton, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, more commonly known as RICO conspiracy; conspiracy to interfere with commerce by...

BOSTON – A New Bedford man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his role in a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) operating in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Jose Santiago, 46, pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute...