TRENTON, N.J. - A Bronx, New York, man today admitted driving to Clifton, New Jersey, to pick up a suitcase filled with 22 kilograms of heroin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Emmanuel Gonzalez, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 5, 2016, law enforcement observed a tractor trailer, driven by Sauro D. Estevez Figueredo, 48, of Miami, and Alberto Mora, 52, of Morriston, Florida, parked at an intersection near a store in Clifton. That afternoon, Gonzalez and Edwin Alamo Jr., 21, of Bronx, drove to the tractor trailer and left with a suitcase given to them by Mora.
Subsequent traffic stops later revealed 22 kilograms of heroin in Gonzalez and Alamo’s possession. Law enforcement also found 10 kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of fentanyl still remaining at the tractor trailer.
The drug distribution conspiracy charge to which Gonzalez pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is set for Dec. 15, 2016. The charges against the remaining defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Williams of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit of the Criminal Division in Newark.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
Defense Counsel: James Murphy Esq., Princeton, New Jersey
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
