BOSTON - A Burlington woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to her role in a widespread heroin and fentanyl ring operating in Lawrence.
Lacey Picariello, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock deferred sentencing until Picariello completes the Court’s Repair, Invest, Succeed, Emerge (R.I.S.E.) program.
On May 30, 2017, after a year-long investigation aimed at attacking the fentanyl and heroin crisis in Lawrence and surrounding areas, more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers executed a federal drug sweep to dismantle a Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization allegedly run by Juan Anibal Patrone. Picariello was arrested and charged along with Patrone and approximately 30 co-conspirators.
Picariello redistributed fentanyl and cocaine for Patrone in Burlington and surrounding areas.
The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $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; Michal J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett; Colonel Kerry A Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick made the announcement today. The DEA Cross Border Initiative, comprised of the DEA and the Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, and Wilmington Police Departments, conducted the investigation jointly with the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Winkler of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
