Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Role in Southeastern Massachusetts Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man was sentenced today for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

Alfredo Valdez, 45 of Providence, R.I. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In February 2024, Valdez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Valdez was one of 10 individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2022 in connection with the conspiracy.

In March 2021, an investigation began into a DTO operating in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island led by Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara. Intercepted communications on numerous cellphones identified Valdez as a member of the DTO who conspired with Ortiz-Alcantara to regularly distribute multi-kilograms of fentanyl from a base of operations at a stash house in Fall River. During a search of the stash house in July 2022, Valdez was found inside the apartment along with more than 12 kilograms of fentanyl stored in various ceiling panels, blenders, a hydraulic press and baggies.  

Valdez is the eighth defendant to plead guilty in the case. Ortiz-Alcantara pleaded guilty in December 2023 and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, 2024.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira; and Fairhaven Police Chief Michael J. Myers made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Homeland Security Investigations; Bristol County Sherriff’s Office; and Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Scituate, Yarmouth, Providence (R.I.) and West Warwick (R.I.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is 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 to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.