USPS letter carrier arranged to deliver packages containing cocaine
BOSTON - Four Worcester men were indicted today in federal court in Worcester in connection with a cocaine trafficking scheme.
Deibby Garcia, 36; his brother, Japhet Garcia, 33; Erick Cruz, 28; and Jose Gonzalez, 37, all of Worcester, were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and possession with the intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine. Deibby Garcia, Japhet Garcia, and Cruz were arrested on Jan. 17, 2018. Deibby Garcia and Cruz have been detained since, while Japhet Garcia was released on conditions on Feb. 12, 2018. Gonzalez was arrested on Jan. 30, 2018, and has been detained since.
According to court documents, in early December 2017, Japhet Garcia and Gonzalez entered a Worcester postal facility and attempted to retrieve a package, addressed to Gonzalez that had been shipped from Puerto Rico and had been found to contain approximately three kilograms of cocaine.
A court-authorized wiretap of a phone belonging to Deibby Garcia revealed discussions between Deibby Garcia and an unidentified individual concerning the delivery of two packages from Puerto Rico on Jan. 16, 2018. The intercepts further revealed that Deibby Garcia made arrangements with Erick Cruz, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, to retrieve the packages once they arrived in Massachusetts.
As alleged in court documents, during the course of communications between Jan. 9,2018, and Jan. 13, 2018, Cruz texted Deibby Garcia two addresses, both of which were on Cruz’s assigned route as a letter carrier. Deibby Garcia, in turn, forwarded the addresses to what authorities believed to be his cocaine source in Puerto Rico. On Jan. 12, 2018, two packages were sent from Puerto Rico to the addresses provided by Cruz and Deibby Garcia. On Jan. 15, 2018, one package was searched pursuant to a federal search warrant and was found to contain three kilograms of cocaine. The following day, federal agents permitted the second package to be provided to Cruz for delivery under the surveillance of federal agents.
Agents thereafter intercepted discussions between Cruz and Deibby Garcia in which they discussed arrangements for Deibby Garcia to have the second package picked up, and they speculated about what had happened to the package that had been seized and searched by agents. Wiretap intercepts also revealed communications in which Deibby coordinated with Gonzalez to arrange for a woman to pick up the three kilogram cocaine package from Cruz. When the woman was stopped by police after meeting with Cruz, she was found in possession of the second package, which contained another three kilograms of cocaine.
The charge of conspiring to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of conspiring to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Eileen Neff, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Office of the Inspector General; Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the court documents are allegations. The 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
