Pawtucket Man Convicted of Fentanyl Trafficking

A federal jury in Rhode Island has convicted a local man of conspiring to import and distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 40-year-old Steven Barros Pinto, of Pawtucket, conspired to import kilogram-quantities of fentanyl from China and use the fentanyl to manufacture counterfeit Percocet pills.

Pinto personally distributed tens of thousands of the fentanyl-laced pills. He acquired the fentanyl with the assistance of co-conspirators Daniel Vivas Ceron, of Colombia, who pleaded guilty in July 2019, and Anthony Gomes, of Rhode Island, who pleaded guilty in April 2018.

Pinto also engaged in a series of obstructive acts intended to silence witnesses and tamper with evidence.

He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, conspiracy to import fentanyl and fentanyl analogues into the United States, continuing criminal enterprise, two counts of obstruction of justice, money laundering conspiracy, four counts of contempt, possession of contraband in a correctional facility, and tampering with evidence.

Pinto is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14 and faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force, the IRS, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Portland Oregon Police Bureau – Drugs and Vice Division, Portland HIDTA Interdiction Task Force, Oregon State Police, and the Grand Forks Police Department.

Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni and Imani Hutty of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon are prosecuting the case.

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