A federal court in Boston sentenced a Rhode Island man for his involvement in a fentanyl trafficking organization that produced and distributed fentanyl tablets throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin sentenced Erik Ventura, 36, to ten years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Ventura pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment in May 2024, which charged him with conspiracy to distribute and possess fentanyl with intent to distribute 400 grams or more. Jasdrual Perez entered a guilty plea in July 2024, with a scheduled sentencing date of December 16, 2024. In February 2022, authorities caught and charged Ventura and Perez, and they have remained in custody ever since.
In September 2019, an investigation was launched into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Jasdrual “Josh” Perez, based in Providence, Rhode Island, which was known to manufacture large quantities of fentanyl pills disguised as pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone/Percocet pills and distribute them and other controlled substances across the United States.
Perez is the nephew of Providence’s police chief, Colonel Oscar Perez. Federal authorities have sentenced him as one of the “biggest” and “most dangerous” drug kingpins in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Ventura was a trusted member of the DTO who oversaw one of the drug stashes. Ventura carried cash and kilogram quantities of drugs to and from New York on behalf of the DTO, distributed thousands of fentanyl tablets to wholesale customers in Massachusetts, and received payment from the DTO for his activities as a drug distributor. Ventura allegedly sold fentanyl and cocaine to his own customers, including one who died from a non-fatal overdose at a DTO stash house where he lived. In February 2022, the authorities seized two industrial-grade pill presses, roughly 20 kilograms of powdered fentanyl, pressed fentanyl pills, and other goods, including kilos of pill binder used in the large-scale production of clandestinely pressed fentanyl pills.
United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division, and Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, announced this on Friday.