Two Men Sentenced for Receiving Cocaine from Puerto Rico via the Mail

BOSTON – A Boston man and a Framingham man were sentenced yesterday for receiving kilograms of cocaine through the United States mail. 

Pablo Santiago-Cruz, 48, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., to 180 months in prison and four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and assaulting federal officers. 

Carlos Reyes, 50, of Framingham, was sentenced by Judge O’Toole to 210 months in prison and four years of supervised release after being convicted at trial of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Santiago-Cruz and Reyes participated in a conspiracy to obtain cocaine from Puerto Rico via the United States mail from at least March 2016 through July 2016. As part of the investigation, more than 30 suspicious parcels were identified that were sent from Puerto Rico to individuals known to be associated with Santiago-Cruz. These parcels were delivered to co-conspirators at residences in Quincy and Framingham, and to commercial mail receiving facilities in Canton and Randolph. 

Santiago-Cruz was one of the leaders of the conspiracy and made arrangements for other individuals, including Reyes, to receive parcels containing kilograms of cocaine on his behalf.  On July 18, 2018, a law enforcement officer stopped a vehicle driven by Reyes and seized a kilogram of cocaine that was hidden inside a toy oven in the trunk of the vehicle. The next day, a search warrant was executed at Santiago-Cruz’s apartment in Roslindale. Upon hearing the agents knock and announce their presence, Santiago-Cruz raced to the kitchen to grab a silver bowl with cocaine from under the sink and then fled to the bathroom, where he attempted to flush approximately 93 grams of cocaine down the toilet. Santiago-Cruz ignored repeated directions from the officers to stop. When the agents then attempted to subdue Santiago-Cruz, he physically resisted and struck several of the officers, resulting in physical injuries to the officers. 

According to court records, both Reyes and Santiago-Cruz have previously been convicted of federal drug trafficking offenses. In 2002, Reyes was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison, and was on supervised release at the time that he participated in the conspiracy with Santiago-Cruz. In 2007, Santiago-Cruz was sentenced to serve 70 months in federal prison in connection with attempted receipt of cocaine from Puerto Rico, and violated the conditions of his supervised release four times.

Five people, including Santiago-Cruz and Reyes, were convicted as part of this investigation. On Sept. 17, 2017, Angel Morales, 47, of Stoughton, was sentenced to 96 months in prison. On Nov. 5, 2018, Roberto Fonseca-Rivera, 43, of Roslindale, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. On Jan. 24, 2019, Jorge Montalvo, 50, of Roslindale, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry Gilpin, Superintendent, Massachusetts State Police; Jason Molina, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey; and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Craig E. Estes of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.