Pittsfield Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison in Multi-Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
Defendant previously convicted on state drug distribution offenses three times
BOSTON – A Pittsfield man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed multiple drugs in the Brockton area.
Edward Chapman, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 11 years in prison and eight years of supervised release. In March 2020, Chapman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, oxycodone, and marijuana.
In 2018, law enforcement began investigating members of a violent drug trafficking organization (DTO) in Brockton. The investigation identified Chapman, a Pittsfield area drug trafficker with three prior state court convictions for drug distribution offenses, as a heroin and cocaine dealer who was being supplied by co-conspirator and fellow DTO member Jose Perez Felix. Intercepted calls revealed that Chapman regularly picked up heroin and cocaine from Perez Felix.
In June 2019, a federal grand jury sitting in Boston, returned a 16-count indictment, charging Chapman and 16 others with controlled substance and firearm offenses. Chapman is the 11th defendant to be sentenced in the case. All remaining defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea Porter of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
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