New Bedford Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine

 BOSTON – A New Bedford man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine.

Jaime Torres, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 100 grams or more of heroin, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and five grams or more of methamphetamine. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for Oct. 19, 2021. Torres was charged in December 2019, along with 12 co-defendants.

From at least February 2019 through December 2019, Torres conspired with others to distribute large quantities of cocaine. Investigators intercepted a number of communications between Torres and co-conspirators, including communications on or about June 17, 2019, in which Torres and various co-conspirators agreed to distribute two kilograms of cocaine or more. Later that same day, investigators seized approximately two kilograms of cocaine from Torres’s storage unit, along with 117 grams of a mixture and substance containing heroin, 55 grams of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl and over 43 grams of methamphetamine.

The charging statute for each count provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspector Service, Boston Division; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.