Fitchburg Man Sentenced for Dealing Heroin And Cocaine

BOSTON – A Fitchburg man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Elvis Genao, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  In May 2017, Genao and four co-defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine in Worcester County.

In the late summer of 2014, federal agents began investigating the narcotics trafficking activities of Osvaldo Vasquez and his associates, Genao, Jose Federico Vasquez, Felix Melendez, and Hugo Santana-Dones. Between November 2014 and July 2015, with the help of a cooperating witness, agents made numerous recorded purchases of heroin - sometimes laced with fentanyl - from members of the conspiracy, seizing over 400 grams of heroin as a result.  

During the controlled purchases, Genao was recorded distributing over 100 grams of heroin to a cooperating source in July 2015. Genao was also captured on wire intercepts between April and July of 2015 discussing the delivery and sale of additional narcotics.

Santana-Dones was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2017, to 80 months in prison and will be subject to deportation hearings upon completion of his sentence; Federico Vasquez was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison and will be subject to deportation hearings upon completion of his sentence. Osvaldo Vasquez and Melendez are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 3, 2017, and Oct. 25, 2017, respectively.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent; Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest F. Martineau; and Leominster Interim Police Chief Michael Goldman made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Grady of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the cases.