Member of Paterson Drug Ring Admits Drug Conspiracy and Distribution of Fentanyl

 NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man today admitted participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Shamir Williams, 26, of Paterson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of heroin and distribution of fentanyl.

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

From May 2020 through Aug. 13, 2020, Shamir Williams, 26, conspired with others to distribute heroin and fentanyl. On June 11, 2020, Williams negotiated the sale of approximately 12,500 glassines of heroin, and then arranged for the delivery of the heroin, from the District of New Jersey to the District of Vermont.

The drug conspiracy charged in count one of the information carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison, and a fine of at least $5 million. Distribution of fentanyl, as charged in count two of the information, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of at least $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers with the DEA in New Jersey and New England, under the direction of Special Agents in Charge Susan A. Gibson and Brian D. Boyle, respectively, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Paterson Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2020 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Paterson. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Paterson Police Department, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori, of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit.