A man from New Jersey has been convicted of conspiring to traffic fentanyl-related substances and launder money.
William Panzera is the man at the center of the drug and money laundering conviction that was handed down by a federal jury in Newark. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty but have not been named yet.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led the case, which was supported by HSI Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, the IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
New Jersey man convicted of drug and money laundering
The federal jury found that Panzera and a cabal of co-conspirators worked together to “import and distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogs, including fentanyl analogs, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylone, and ketamine.”
The drugs were reportedly imported from Chinese sources by the group of traffickers in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. These funds were sent via digital and cryptocurrency transactions.
New Jersey was the port of call for the distribution of the addictive substances in the guise of “counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogs,” said the Justice Department.
Panzera was convicted of “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of furanyl fentanyl and 100 grams or more of 4 fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl and conspiracy to commit international promotional money laundering.”
The report said he faces a mandatory ten-year sentence, with life imprisonment being the highest custodial penalty for the charges. He also faces a potential $10 million fine for the drug trafficking conspiracy charge, a “maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $500,000 for the money laundering conspiracy charge. “
The case was part of the United States’ Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. The task force identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations nationwide using high-tech and industry-leading techniques.
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