MA man facing life in prison after operation distributed 30 kilos of fentanyl, tens of thousands of pills an hour

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Tuesday to operating a drug trafficking organization that used multiple high-volume pill press machines to produce tens of thousands of fentanyl pills per hour to sell to street gangs for local distribution.

Vincent Caruso, 27, a/k/a “Fatz,” of Lynn, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and other controlled substances; one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery); and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 30, 2022. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Caruso will be sentenced to at least 15 years.

Caruso was initially arrested and charged by complaint on June 30, 2021 along with co-conspirators Ernest Johnson, Laurie Caruso and Nicole Benton as part of Operation Street Sweepah: Guns and Butter, an investigation that began in 2020 in direct response to an increasing number of shootings in communities north of Boston committed by street gangs whose violence is fueled by drug distribution. Caruso was later indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 19, 2022. Benton and Laurie Caruso have each pleaded guilty to their roles in the DTO and are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8, 2022, and June 29, 2022, respectively. Ernest Johnson has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

According to the charging documents, Caruso, a self-admitted Crip gang member, operated a large and sophisticated DTO with multiple subordinates that sold counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl to street gangs for further distribution on the North Shore. During the investigation, Caruso’s DTO was identified as a common supply source of counterfeit, pressed fentanyl pills and other controlled substances for several street gangs responsible for the uptick in violence. During Tuesday’s plea hearing, Caruso admitted that his DTO distributed over 30 kilograms of fentanyl, largely in the form of pressed fentanyl pills. At times during the conspiracy, Caruso manufactured his own fentanyl pills, and later, the DTO received multiple large deliveries of at least 50,000 pills.

In furtherance of his drug trafficking activities, Caruso possessed and used firearms and orchestrated violent offenses such as an armed robbery. Specifically, in March 2020, while on pretrial release for state fentanyl and firearm charges, Caruso orchestrated an armed robbery and home invasion in which two individuals robbed the occupants of an apartment of approximately $18,000 and jewelry. In addition, while on state pretrial release Caruso sent photos and videos using social media that depicted him in possession of firearms and machine guns, large quantities of fentanyl that would be distributed by his organization, large amounts of cash and high-end jewelry. Caruso also conspired with others to conduct hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions in order to launder illegal proceeds of the drug trafficking operation. Over a kilogram of pressed fentanyl and over a dozen firearms were recovered through various search warrants executed in this and related investigations.

The charge of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and other controlled substances provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy involving a machine gun provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery) provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved. 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.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy: Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts States Police made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk County District Attorneys’ Offices; Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk and Hancock (Maine) County Sheriffs’ Departments; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine; Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Danvers, Everett, Lynn, Malden, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Revere, Bolton (Maine), Bangor (Maine), Portland (Maine) and Westbrook (Maine) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting 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.