Haverhill Resident Pleads Guilty To Drug Conspiracy Charge

          CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Mara Morillo, 40, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone and cocaine.  Morillo appeared before United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to enter her guilty plea.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Morillo admitted that she sold oxycodone to a cooperating individual in Haverhill, Massachusetts and admitted that she participated in the distribution of cocaine and oxycodone with others individuals in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  Over $18,000 in cash was seized from her residence during the execution of a search warrant in August 2015.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for August 30, 2016.

            Morillo is one of six individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on September 23, 2015, and charged with conspiracy to distribute, and possession controlled substances with the intent to distribute.  The other defendants are:  Franklyn Morillo, 41, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; Juan Rojas, 31, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; Justin Bartimus, 35, formerly of Methuen, Massachusetts; Jorge Medina, 25, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; and Michael Lally, 28, of Salem, New Hampshire.

            Lally pleaded guilty on March 22, 2016 and his sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2016.  Bartimus pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016 and his sentencing is scheduled for August 30, 2016.  The remaining defendants in the drug conspiracy case are scheduled for trial on September 20, 2016.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.   The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad led the investigation with assistance from the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department, the Methuen, Massachusetts Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police.   It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

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