Massachusetts Woman Sentenced to Five Years for Drug Distribution Conspiracy

          CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Leslie Aberle, 33, of Salisbury, Massachusetts, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

          According to court documents, on October 16, 2015, Aberle drove Mark Ross and Eve Tarmey to Lawrence, Massachusetts, in order to obtain a quantity of heroin. Ross obtained the drugs from a source in Lawrence while Aberle and Tarmey waited in Aberle’s car. After Ross acquired the drugs, the three returned to the Riviera Motel. Ross and Jazzmyn Rood also used a portion of the drugs and Ross provided a portion to Tarmey. The following morning, Tarmey was found dead in the motel room. The New Hampshire Medical Examiner later found that Ms. Tarmey died of acute fentanyl intoxication.

          Aberle will be on supervised release for three years after she services her prison sentence.

          New Hampshire has the third-highest rate of per capita drug overdose deaths in the United States. More than half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were the result of fentanyl, either alone or in combination with other drugs.

          In April 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the formation of an inter-office team of prosecutors who work together to prosecute individuals who cause opiate overdose deaths in New Hampshire. This prosecution, initiated before the creation of the joint team, is an example of the type of case the team reviews and monitors.

          The case was investigated by the Rochester Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Feith.

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