BOSTON - A Worcester man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to his role in a heroin and cocaine conspiracy.
Vito Nuzzolilo, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and more than 100 grams of heroin. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019.
According to court documents, Nuzzolilo distributed heroin and cocaine from his apartment in Worcester and from a separate “band room" that he maintained in Worcester. A federal wiretap revealed numerous communications in which Nuzzolilo coordinated the sale of heroin or cocaine to various drug customers. The investigation also revealed that Nuzzolilo coordinated with a New York-based source of supply for the delivery of significant quantities of heroin and cocaine to Worcester. As a result of the investigation, law enforcement seized drugs from various locations, including from Nuzzolilo’s band room, his BMW, and from a car transporting cocaine from Nuzzolilo’s apartment to Maine.
Four other individuals have pleaded guilty and been sentenced in this drug conspiracy. In February 2019, Ricardo Ortega-Vasquez, 42, a Dominican national residing in New York City, was sentenced to time served (approximately 23 months in prison). In November 2018, Thomas Walker of Pemaquid, Maine, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In September 2018, Melissa Rock, also of Pemaquid, Maine, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison. And in June 2018, Kristen Little of Worcester was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Due to the quantity of heroin involved in this case and to a prior conviction for cocaine trafficking, Nuzzolilo faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, a minimum of eight years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $8 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 and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
