Fitchburg Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Fitchburg man pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021 in federal court in Worcester to his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy.

Angel Cruz, a/k/a “Papo,” 61, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Feb. 1, 2022. Cruz was indicted in November 2017.   

In the fall of 2016, Cruz conspired with another individual to deliver cash in exchange for cocaine from the San Diego, Calif. area for distribution in Fitchburg. Cruz admitted that he rented a vehicle for the exchange, which was used by his co-conspirator to drive to California to deliver the cash and transport the drugs back to Massachusetts. Law enforcement stopped the co-conspirator when returning to Massachusetts and found the cocaine concealed inside the rented vehicle.

The charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest F. Martineau; and Lunenburg Police Chief Thomas Gammel made the announcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division and the Ohio State Highway Patrol assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett and Lucy Sun of Mendell’s Worcester Branch Office are prosecuting the case.