Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to heroin trafficking.

Jose Antonio Rosario, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Aug. 17, 2017.

From about April 2015 to March 2016, federal law enforcement investigated the drug distribution activities of Ramon Baez, a Dominican national based in Lawrence, and his associates.  Rosario supplied Baez with kilograms of heroin, which Baez then repackaged for distribution.  Baez pleaded guilty in March 2017 and is scheduled for sentencing on June 16, 2017.  Baez is subject to deportation following the completion of his sentence. 

The charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and 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. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.