BOSTON - A Boston drug trafficker pleaded guilty on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, to his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
Hassan Monroe, 38, of Quincy, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for June 22, 2022.
In June 2020, Monroe was charged along with 23 others as part of Operation Snowfall. According to the charging documents, beginning in November 2018, law enforcement conducted an investigation into drug trafficking activities by Boston-based street gang members and associates in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. It is alleged that the defendants, through their drug trafficking activities, assumed control over multiple apartments, where they stored, cooked, packaged and sold drugs. As a result, their activities caused a blight of the development and reduced the quality of life of the other residents.
The investigation also targeted large-scale drug suppliers and their associates. It is alleged that the targets continued to distribute cocaine and cocaine base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. Monroe is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in the case.
Monroe was a significant drug supplier and distributor within the drug conspiracy. Monroe purchased and distributed wholesale quantities of cocaine and is estimated to have distributed over one kilogram of cocaine and 200 grams of cocaine base. During the investigation, a search of a “stash house" associated with Monroe recovered over 400 grams of cocaine, six firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition. 250 grams of cocaine and a loaded firearm were recovered from Monroe’s car and a subsequent search of Monroe’s residence recovered cocaine and two loaded firearms.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years 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. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $ 250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Douglas Bartlett, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistance with the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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
