Two Hampden County Men Indicted For Large Scale Drug Conspiracy
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - A Holyoke man and a Chicopee man were charged in U.S. District Court in Springfield yesterday in connection with operating a scheme to transport drugs and cash between Texas and western Massachusetts that were concealed in secret compartments of vehicles.
Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced that Javier Gonzalez, 44, of Holyoke, and Jamil Roman, 38, of Chicopee, were indicted on one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. They were charged in a criminal complaint and arrested in March 2014.
According to charging documents, in January 2014, a long-term investigation of a cocaine distribution conspiracy centered in Holyoke and West Springfield led law enforcement to Gonzalez and Roman. It is alleged that Gonzalez used tractor trailers associated with his business, JGL Truck Sales, to drive to Texas to pick up kilograms of cocaine and heroin from his Mexican supply source. He then returned to Massachusetts where Roman sold the drugs on his behalf. In order to transport the drugs, Gonzalez had vehicles modified to contain hidden compartments. He hid the drugs and cash in the compartments of the vehicles, loaded them onto his tractor trailer, and drove to Texas. Gonzalez allegedly made trips to Texas to transport the drugs and cash multiple times per year for the last several years. According to court documents, on March 25, 2014, Gonzalez was stopped in Agawam by law enforcement as he drove the JGL tractor trailer south. During a search of the tractor trailer, $1.17 million was recovered from a hidden compartment of the cab. Also that day, $350,000 was recovered from the residence of Roman.
The charge of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin provides for a sentence of no greater than a lifetime in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $10 million and restitution. The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $5 million and restitution. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
