Rochester Man Sentenced On Drug Charges

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jaime Fontanez, 46, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, was sentenced to 63 months in prisonby U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that on February 3, 2014, U.S. Postal Inspectors searched a suspicious parcel shipped from Puerto Rico to 72 Jewel Street in Rochester. Inspectors found three kilograms of cocaine concealed in aluminum cans containing sliced papayas. The next day, a court-ordered transmitter was placed on the parcel and a U.S. Postal employee, assisted by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Rochester Police Department officers, delivered the package to 72 Jewel Street.

The defendant arrived at 72 Jewel Street and sent his nephew, Daniel Acevedo, 33, inside to collect the package. Shortly after Acevedo entered the residence, officers raided the residence and arrested Acevedo and Fontanez.
 
Acevedo was convicted and sentenced to 37 months in prison.
 
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.