United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CONCORD, N.H. – A Manchester man pleaded guilty in federal court for trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Davis announces.

Stephen Stangle, 60, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for June 25, 2025.

According to the plea agreement, on April 17, 2021, law enforcement searched Stangle’s rented room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester and found approximately 333 grams of fentanyl packaged for sale in various small baggies. On April 9, 2022, law enforcement searched Stangle’s rented room at the Even Hotel in Manchester and found approximately 729 grams of fentanyl packaged for sale and $17,963 in proceeds derived from criminal activities.

The charging statute provides a sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five (5) years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $10,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Manchester Police Department and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar A. Vega is prosecuting the case.  

This effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).