A Rhode Island man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking operation. Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced the sentencing of Jonathan Masa-Gonzalez, 29, who was involved in distributing cocaine to mid-level and street-level dealers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Masa-Gonzalez was one of more than a dozen individuals charged in September 2021 as part of a Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation into a drug trafficking conspiracy. Many of those charged had prior convictions for violent crimes including firearm offenses, robbery, assault, and domestic violence.
Court documents revealed that Masa-Gonzalez brokered the sale of multiple kilograms of cocaine to a leader within the conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on June 5, 2024, to conspiracy charges related to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced him to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Stacey A. Erickson prosecuted the case. The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations through coordinated efforts by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
The FBI Rhode Island Safe Street Task Force, DEA, and Providence Police Department’s Narcotics Bureau conducted the investigation.
