Massachusetts man facing up to 20 years in prison for distributing at least 7,000 fentanyl pills

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty to drug distribution offense involving fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue known as para-fluorofentanyl.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 41-year-old Melvin Cordero pf Boston pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, 2023.

On March 15, 2022, Cordero delivered 7,000 pills containing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl to an individual who was cooperating with federal law enforcement. The buy was part of a broader federal investigation into a drug-trafficking organization based in the Dominican Republic. Cordero delivered the pills to the cooperator in Boston’s South End. Cordero was arrested and charged in November 2022. Following Cordero’s arrest, law enforcement seized from him a machine used for manufacturing counterfeit pills that he had attempted to sell to an undercover officer.

The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. 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.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the DEA New York Field Office, the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.