A Providence man has officially admitted to his part in a drug ring that pumped deadly fentanyl through the heart of Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Alfredo Valdez, 46, copped to a single count of conspiracy to distribute the potent synthetic opioid, an offense that could slam him behind bars for two decades, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Valdez was swept up in a network helmed by Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara, authorities detailed, and was one of 10 people indicted in August 2022 after a federal grand jury caught wind of the operation. In a house in Fall River, the stash—over 12 kilos of fentanyl—was stashed away craftily in ceiling nooks, kitchen appliances, and other clandestine spots when law enforcement pounced in July 2022. Valdez, found on-site, is now among eight defendants to plead guilty in the sprawling case.
He awaits a May sentence, while his former boss, Ortiz-Alcantara, gave his own guilty plea back in December and is slated for sentencing on July 9, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. The conspiracy charge opens up the possibility for 20 years in prison coupled with up to a life sentence of supervised release and penalties maxing out at $1 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy; DEA's New England Field Division chief Brian D. Boyle; local law enforcement from New Bedford, Providence, and beyond—including Fairhaven Police Chief Michael J. Myers—were credited with taking down the traffickers. This case is but a fragment of a broader spectrum of battles waged by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, a body committed to dismantling high-level threats to public safety.
While the charges reflect severe allegations, the swathe of defendants who have yet to enter pleas remain innocent till proven otherwise in a court of law. With the score of pleas fiercely building, the justice system waits to levy its full weight upon those who've turned communities into trafficking playgrounds, capitalizing on the opioid epidemic’s grisly currency.
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