Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Role in Drug Conspiracy

TRENTON, N.J. – A Philadelphia man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy connected to the seizure of fentanyl and heroin at a New Jersey rest stop last year, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Denny Diaz, 30, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today.

According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Diaz’s co-defendant, Luis Aponte, 49, of Riverside, California, drove a tractor-trailer truck to a rest stop in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, on March 1, 2019. The next day, he met Diaz in a car and gave Diaz approximately six kilograms of fentanyl. Both men were arrested shortly thereafter. Law enforcement officers searched Aponte’s truck at the rest stop and found an additional two kilograms of fentanyl and 11 kilograms of heroin inside.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Diaz to three years of supervised release. Aponte previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 6, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division; New York City Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea; and New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. This case is being investigated by the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.