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Press Release

Brooklyn, New York Man Sentenced to 48 Months’ Imprisonment for Fentanyl, Cocaine Base, and Cocaine Distribution in Rutland Area

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Vermont

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Quadeim Mack (a.k.a. “Matt”), 20, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III to 48 months of imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. 

Mack had previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine. In the plea agreement, the government and Mack agreed to a term of imprisonment between 48 and 60 months. In sentencing Mack to 48 months, Judge Sessions relied, in part, on Mack’s young age at the time he committed the offense and Mack’s lack of any prior criminal record. 

According to court records, on January 29, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at 8 Sheldon Place in Rutland, Vermont. In an upstairs bedroom where Mack was arrested, law enforcement seized 9 grams of fentanyl, 57 grams of cocaine base, and 50 grams of cocaine. Law enforcement also seized a loaded .22 caliber revolver and $13,050 of drug proceeds. 

The government alleged that Mack was part of a conspiracy responsible for distributing over two kilograms of heroin and over five kilograms of cocaine base in the Rutland area over an 18-month period.  The government stated in its sentencing memorandum that the presence of a firearm in a drug trafficking offense is “a potentially lethal combination which exponentially increases the risk of violence and harm to the community.” Moreover, the government stated that Mack’s criminal offense “involved a large volume of dangerous drugs, including fentanyl, which surely facilitated the destruction of many lives and contributed to tearing apart many families.”  
 
Mack’s arrest was part of a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement surge conducted in early 2020 which focused on drug trafficking and firearm violations. See https://www.justice.gov/usao-vt/pr/27-individuals-charged-or-arrested-part-joint-law-enforcement-effort.  The law enforcement surge was conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.    

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt commended the investigative efforts of  the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Rutland City Police Department.

This case was prosecuted on behalf of the government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella.  Mack was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth.

Updated March 4, 2021

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Opioids