New Bedford Man Sentenced for Heroin and Fentanyl Conspiracy

BOSTON - A New Bedford man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a heroin and fentanyl drug trafficking operation based in and around Taunton.

Cory Nickerson, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 71 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In March 2017, Nickerson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of heroin and fentanyl.

After a 15-month federal investigation, Nickerson and 25 others were arrested and charged with various drug offenses connected to the trafficking of heroin and fentanyl in Taunton and surrounding communities. The investigation targeted all levels of the drug trafficking operation: major suppliers, middlemen, and lower level dealers/users. Nickerson was in the mid-to-lower tier of the conspiracy, primarily arranging deals for a third party while he himself was using heroin. 

Of the 26 defendants indicted, 21 have pleaded guilty and nine, including Nickerson, have been sentenced. 

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