Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Nationwide Drug Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2023 in federal court in Worcester to his role in a nationwide large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy and for distribution of large quantities of fentanyl. 

Francis Jose Perez-Baez, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, distribution and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing hearing for April 25, 2024. Perez-Baez was charged in November 2021 along with Javier Robledo Perez, Vicente Castro and Carlos Longoria.

Perez-Baez was a Boston-based drug distributor who distributed large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl. Perez-Baez received multiple kilograms of cocaine from a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that utilized commercial semi-trucks to transport dozens of kilograms of cocaine throughout the United States, including to Massachusetts. 

Over the course of the investigation, Perez-Baez paid the drug trafficking organization nearly $280,000 in drug proceeds for multiple kilograms of cocaine that the organization had previously supplied to him on credit. Additionally, Perez-Baez sold fentanyl to a cooperating witness on multiple occasions – over 500 grams of fentanyl in August 2020 and 200 grams of fentanyl in April 2021.

On March 31, 2023, Longoria was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 34 months in prison and two years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty. 

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and the charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl both carry a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to life, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and John E. Mawn, Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Laredo and Dallas Divisions provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.  

This case 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.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.