Charlestown Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Fentanyl

BOSTON – A Charlestown man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to distributing fentanyl out of an apartment in Chelsea. 

Cruz Villar, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Sept. 16, 2019.

On June 22, 2018, Villar was observed by law enforcement in a hand-to-hand sale of fentanyl to a customer in a parking lot in Dorchester.  After the sale, agents recovered approximately 11 grams of fentanyl from the customer and approximately $1,446 in cash from Villar.  A subsequent search of an apartment in Chelsea that Villar had been renting—but in which he had not been residing— resulted in the recovery of approximately 87.4 additional grams of fentanyl, along with components of a drug press, a digital scale, two blenders, bottles of a cutting agent, and packaging materials, including plastic wrap and plastic baggies.  In addition, Villar made regular trips from the Chelsea apartment to an address in Mashpee in a manner consistent with the distribution of narcotics.

The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez‑Daple of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.