BOSTON - A Dominican national pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after being deported and participating in a money laundering conspiracy that laundered or attempted to launder between $150,000 and $250,000 worth of drug sales proceeds.
Rafael Pascal, 55, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a deported alien and money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV, scheduled sentencing for Sept. 10, 2019.
According to court records, Pascal was deported on Jan. 5, 2002, subsequently reentered the United States, and was convicted of illegally reentering the country in 2012. In 2013, Pascal was again deported to the Dominican Republic, and sometime thereafter, again illegally entered the United States. On May 6, 2018, Pascal was arrested in Wakefield on state drug charges.
From approximately March 1, 2017, through at least July 2017, Pascal participated in a conspiracy to launder money obtained from the sale of controlled substances. Pascal admitted that he picked up cash proceeds from drug sales from various individuals and then delivered the money to individuals who were responsible for laundering the money. Pascal picked up and delivered varying quantities of cash, including, on one occasion, $59,060, which he delivered to an undercover law enforcement officer. Pascal stipulated that during the time that he participated in the conspiracy, he and his coconspirators laundered or attempted to launder between $150,000 and $250,000 in drug proceeds.
The charge of illegal reentry after deportation provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000. Pascal will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. 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; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Marcos D. Charles, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Colonel Kerry Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. The Boston Organized Crimes Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Wakefield, Arlington, Ipswich, Somerville and Boston Police Departments assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Arnold of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
