Massachusetts man sentenced to prison for role in violent southeastern Massachusetts drug ring

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Wednesday in federal court in Boston for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned across the District.

Tony Goncalves, 24, of Brockton, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In October 2021, Goncalves pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, oxycodone and marijuana and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana.

In the fall of 2018, an investigation into a violent Brockton drug conspiracy led by Djuna Goncalves revealed that he worked with others, including his brothers Tony and Cody Goncalves, to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana throughout southeastern Massachusetts from a base of operations at their family home in Brockton (Brockton base). The neighborhood surrounding the Brockton base has been the scene of numerous murders, shootings and other crimes of violence for several years.

During the investigation, intercepted conversations between Tony and Djuna Goncalves revealed that they conspired to distribute marijuana from the Brockton base, where in October 2018, an unidentified individual fired several shots at Djuna Goncalves. A subsequent search of the Brockton base resulted in the seizure of marijuana, packaging materials, scales, a kilo press, fentanyl, firearms and ammunition as well as documents in Tony and Djuna’s Goncalves’ names.

In all, 17 defendants, including Tony, Djuna and Cody Goncalves, were indicted as part of a wide-ranging drug trafficking conspiracy, of whom 15 have now been sentenced. Djuna and Cody Goncalves have each pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, 2022 and June 15, 2022, respectively.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; and Brockton Police Chief Brenda Perez made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea E. Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.