Holyoke Man Sentenced to 10 Years on Drug Charges

January 26, 2010 - A Holyoke man was sentenced on Friday, January 22, 2010 in federal court for conspiracy and distribution of cocaine base.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; Chief Anthony R. Scott of the Holyoke Police Department; Commissioner William J. Fitchet of the Springfield Police Department; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Sheriff Michael Ashe of Hampden County announced today that JOHN HARLEY, age 41, of Holyoke, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor to 10 years' imprisonment, to be followed by eight years of supervised release. HARLEY pled guilty to conspiracy and distribution of cocaine base and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base on July 23, 2009.

At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the court that had the case proceeded to trial the government’s evidence would have proven that on November 19, 2007, HARLEY cooked powder cocaine into 25 grams of crack cocaine, which was then sold by a co-defendant.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force, a Safe Street/HIDTA Initiative. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Unit.