Skip to main content
Press Release

Boston Man Sentenced for Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy

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

BOSTON – A drug distributor within a Boston-area drug trafficking organization (DTO) was sentenced yesterday for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving cocaine and cocaine base.

Phillip Williams, 38, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On Aug. 8, 2022, Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Williams was charged with 23 others in June 2020 as part of Operation Snowfall, which ultimately resulted in the charging of two different drug trafficking conspiracies during the period of November 2018 through June 2020.

According to the charging documents, beginning in November 2018, law enforcement investigated a DTO in which Williams was a drug distributor. The DTO was comprised of Boston-based street gang members and associates in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. It is alleged that the DTO assumed control over multiple apartments, where Williams and others stored, cooked, packaged, and sold drugs – most of which consisted of cocaine or cocaine base, which the DTO supplied to customers, wholesalers, and distributors. As the investigation continued, law enforcement ultimately identified another DTO operating within the Boston area and targeted its large-scale drug suppliers and their associates.

Williams distributed between approximately 100 and 200 grams of cocaine base during the course of his participation in the Fidelis Way DTO. Williams is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in the Fidelis-Way related drug conspiracy. The remaining defendants in the Fidelis Way conspiracy have all been convicted and are pending sentencing. In the other charged conspiracy, the defendants are either pending sentencing or have pleaded not guilty and are pending trial. One defendant, Derek Hart, remains at large.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistance with the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

This effort 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 charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated November 18, 2022

Topic
Drug Trafficking