Worcester Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution and Money Laundering

BOSTON – A Worcester business owner pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to distributing fentanyl and using the proceeds of drug sales to purchase and renovate nine properties in Worcester County. 

Kevin A. Perry, 44, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to nine counts of money laundering, three counts of aggravated cash structuring, one count of making a false statement on a loan application, and one count of distribution of fentanyl.  U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2018.

Perry was previously convicted in federal court in Massachusetts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute MDMA, commonly referred to as Ecstasy.  Despite filing an affidavit claiming he possessed nothing of monetary value to satisfy the court’s forfeiture order, Perry boasted to an individual that he successfully concealed from the government “millions of dollars” in profits from drug sales.  Following his release from prison in 2008, Perry returned to the manufacturing and distribution of controlled substances, including fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and heroin.  On Feb. 23, 2017, Perry distributed 2,000 pills containing fentanyl to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. 

Additionally, from April 2012 to October 2016, Perry used over $1 million in proceeds from drug sales to purchase and renovate nine properties in Worcester County.  Those purchases included two restaurants in the city of Worcester:  The Usual Restaurant located at 166 Shrewsbury Street and The Blackstone Tap located at 81 Water Street.  Perry also used the proceeds from his drug sales to purchase more than 230 money orders totaling over $150,000 from the United States Postal Service and Western Union to make structured cash payments on real estate loans and to finance his wedding in August 2015.  The only employment that Perry reported during that time was as a fitness trainer.  He also collected unemployment benefits from June 2015 through January 2016.

The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.  The charge of aggravated cash structuring provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000.  The charge of making a false statement on a loan application provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million.  The charge of distribution of fentanyl provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. 

According to the plea agreement, Perry will be sentenced to between 14 and 16 years in prison and five years of supervised release.  He will also forfeit the nine properties, the business assets of the two restaurants, over $510,000 in cash and precious metals seized to date, an illegal pill press, and two vehicles.  The sentence will also include a money judgment of $1,180,943 against Perry should additional assets be located.  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; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.