BOSTON - A Mattapan man agreed to plead guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to distributing cocaine and conspiring with others to distribute cocaine.
Francisco Torres, 37, a former employee at Logan International Airport who held a “Customs Seal," a badge that permits entry to Federal Inspection Service areas to individuals who require access in order to perform their job duties, agreed to plead guilty to two counts of distributing cocaine and one count of conspiring with others to distribute cocaine. Judge Indira Talwani deferred acceptance of the plea until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2017.
On Feb. 16, 2017, Torres was arrested in the South End neighborhood of Boston following a sting operation where he was caught exchanging 850 grams of cocaine for a paper bag containing more than $33,000 in cash. Immediately after the exchange, officers approached Torres, who threw the bag of cash over a fence. Officers arrested Torres and recovered the money.
The conspiracy charge and one count of the cocaine distribution charge provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $5 million. The remaining cocaine distribution charge provides for a maximum of 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. 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 Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Colonel Christopher Wagner, Director of the New Hampshire State Police; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. McNeil and Christine Wichers of Weinreb’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
