Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Quincy resident was sentenced in federal court for trafficking firearms and distributing fentanyl. Caesar Ross, 41, received a sentence of 90 months in prison and three years of supervised release from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dennis F. Saylor IV. In July 2024, Ross pleaded guilty to one count of firearms trafficking and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to the case details, over a three-month period in 2020, Ross acquired 23 firearms with obliterated serial numbers from an individual in Florida. He exchanged fentanyl for these weapons and specifically requested that their serial numbers be removed. The firearms were then distributed by Ross and his associates to individuals who could not legally possess them in Massachusetts.
Authorities have recovered at least five of these weapons in Boston, where they were found with felons or gang members or at crime scenes involving gunfire or armed assault. The remaining firearms have not been located.
Ross was arrested in September 2023 after giving approximately 60 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in exchange for four firearms without visible serial numbers.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: "United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Bryan DiGirolamo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division made the announcement today." She noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division and the Quincy Police Department also provided assistance on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum prosecuted the matter.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together law enforcement agencies at all levels along with community organizations to address gun violence and violent crime.
