Washington D.C. resident Ronte Ricardo Greene, popularly known as "Cardiddy," was handed a 108-month federal prison sentence for his involvement in distributing fentanyl-laced pills from California to various parts of the U.S., including the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region. The conviction was part of a broader crackdown on a drug trafficking network with ties spanning California and the nation's capital. The news comes from an announcement made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Greene's guilty plea on Feb. 27, 2025, to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams of fentanyl determined his fate. The 29-year-old was not only sentenced to prison but also faces a subsequent five-year term of supervised release, as ruled by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. The conviction is the latest in a string of indictments for a group that altogether comprised 24 individuals, all charged in related conspiracies to move drugs across state lines.
The arrest of Greene on Nov. 15, 2023, appears to have been an illuminating moment in the investigation, as he was found with about 100 fentanyl-laced pills. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the investigation leveraged an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that used a coordinated approach to target the upper echelons of drug trafficking networks threatening the country.
The law enforcement collaboration inclusively featured agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), along with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Additionally, the DEA Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside Field Offices, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the Charles County, Maryland Sheriff’s Office have all been credited for providing valuable support. Assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Southern Districts of California, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Maryland proved to be pivotal, too, in the execution of this multi-agency mission.
Momentum in the case against Greene and his co-defendants was ensured by the persistent efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kinskey, Solomon Eppel, and Iris McCranie from the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Division.
