United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Reading man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a conspiracy to distribute meth in and around the Boston area.

Aaron Smith, 34, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. In issuing this sentence, Judge O’Toole cited Smith’s participation in the Court-run RISE (Repair, Invest, Succeed, and Emerge) Program. In May 2020, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.

In late 2018, Smith began purchasing meth from two meth dealers in Boston which evolved into a partnership in which they allowed Smith to pay wholesale cost for meth being shipped from Phoenix. In April 2019, investigators seized a two-pound package of meth from Phoenix that was being shipped to Massachusetts. Smith had contributed cash toward the purchase of this seized meth and was supposed to receive one pound.

In August 2019, Smith agreed to purchase a pound of meth from a cooperating witness, who said the meth was coming from a new supplier in California. Smith met with the cooperating witness at a coffee shop in Boston and took possession of a pound of meth he believed was from the California supplier. Smith was subsequently arrested after exiting the coffee shop.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Acting Commissioner Gregory P. Long, Boston Police Department made the announcement. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and Arlington Police Department assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Arnold of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.