Vermont Man Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Offense

BOSTON – A Vermont man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for his role in a cocaine conspiracy. 

Lorenzo Deconinck, 60, of Jamaica, Vt., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Dec. 19, 2019. Deconinck was charged in an indictment unsealed in March 2018.

Deconinck pleaded guilty to conspiring with David Cruz and others to distribute cocaine in Massachusetts. Specifically, between 2015 and 2016, Cruz obtained cocaine from sources in Mexico and caused the cocaine to be transported to the Springfield area via concealed compartments in a Nissan Juke. Deconinck then purchased more than 50 grams of cocaine from Cruz with the intent to distribute it.

Cruz previously pleaded guilty to drug and firearms offenses and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2020. 

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years 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. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement today.  Assistance was provided by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations, the DEA’s Carlsbad (Calif.) Resident Office, and Westfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine A. Wagner of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.