Rhode Island man on probation who admitted to accepting at least 8+ kilos of cocaine sentenced to prison

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Woonsocket man, who was identified in court documents as one of the initial participants in a conspiracy that went on to receive more than five dozen packages containing kilograms of cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico to Rhode Island through the U.S. Postal Service was sentenced today to eight and a half years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

William Lugo, 32, previously admitted to a federal judge that he accepted at least eight parcels containing at least one kilogram of cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico between December 2017 and July 2020. The cocaine was often shipped stashed inside wine racks and Bluetooth speakers.

Lugo admitted that he communicated regularly with alleged leaders of the drug trafficking enterprise in Rhode Island and with co-conspirators in Puerto Rico via social media apps about when drug parcels would be delivered. He received cash payments for each package he accepted or retrieved.

On July 14, 2020, U.S. Postal Service Inspectors and members of the Rhode Island High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force executed a court-authorized search of Lugo’s residence and seized a ghost gun with nine rounds of .40 caliber ammunition; cellphones Lugo used to communicate via social media apps with other members of the conspiracy; and, among other items, two wine racks with broken bottoms and two Bluetooth speakers.

Lugo pleaded guilty on May 1, 2023, to charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, unlawful use of a communication facility (the U.S. mail), and being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition.

He was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 102 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release.

At the time of his arrest by federal agents in July 2020, Lugo was serving a term of state probation, having been convicted in Rhode Island state court in December 2015 on a charge of carrying a pistol without a license.

The case in U.S. District Court is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christine D. Lowell and Stacey A. Erickson.