Fall River fentanyl dealer connected to large drug trafficking group sentenced to prison

A 42-year-old Fall River fentanyl dealer connected to a larger drug trafficking group which was operating in and around Fall River during the latter years of the last decade was sentenced to serve up to five years in state prison last Thursday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Charles Belisle pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with two counts of criminal conspiracy to violate the drug laws and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

In September 2019, Fall River Police’s Vice Unit and the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the district attorney’s office began a joint investigation into the “Michael Rebello Drug Trafficking Organization,” which was alleged to be selling fentanyl in the Fall River area. During the course of the probe, investigators gathered enough evidence to obtain a wiretap warrant for Rebello’s phone(s) to identify Rebello’s associates and suppliers. Ultimately wiretap warrants were obtained for seven phones.

Search and arrest warrants were executed on December 20, 2019, leading to the arrest of several people connected to the drug ring.

This defendant, Charles Belisle, was associated with Rebello, but operating separately from him, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. They were both buying fentanyl from a supplier in Rhode Island. From November 20, 2019, to the end of the investigation, Belisle was heard making arrangements for drug purchases on a regular basis.

On the day of his arrest, Belisle was arrested at a Covel Street address, and found with close to $3,000 in his possession. Approximately 1,200 blue glassine baggies of fentanyl (roughly 24 grams), were also seized. The cash has subsequently been forfeited.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel Walsh, and the three-and-a-half to five years state prison term was imposed by Judge Renee Dupuis.

“Theses convictions were obtained as a result of a court-ordered wiretap relating to the sale of fentanyl in the city of Fall River. I am pleased that the defendant was held accountable for selling the lethal drug fentanyl, which he was profiting from. He has a lengthy criminal record,” District Attorney Quinn said.