ALBANY, NEW YORK - Jesus Baez, age 32, of Loudonville, New York, pled guilty today to a cocaine distribution conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Ketty Larco-Ward, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
Baez admitted that between June 2021 and December 2021, in Albany and Rensselaer Counties, he and three co-conspirators obtained cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico and distributed it in the Capital Region. The cocaine was shipped via U.S. mail in one-kilogram bricks, and transported to a stash house maintained by Baez on Fifth Avenue in Troy, New York, where the cocaine was processed for distribution.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 8, 2023 in front of Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe. Baez faces a minimum of 5 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, and a term of supervised release of at least 4 years and up to life. Baez also agreed to forfeit $5,000 seized from his residence as proceeds of the drug conspiracy.
Baez’s plea resolves the charges against him in an indictment unsealed in September. The following three individuals were also charged for their role in the conspiracy:
* Jan Lopez-Colon, 28, of Troy,
* Ilvin Batista-Figueroa, 31, of Albany, and
* Sam Calderon, 20, of Troy.
Calderon previously pled guilty before Judge Sharpe. The charges against codefendants Lopez-Colon and Batista-Figueroa remain pending. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. These defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the USPIS and its Capital Region Task Force, led by the USPIS and including the Albany Police Department, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Schenectady Police Department, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin S. Clark.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
