Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Cocaine Trafficking

BOSTON, MA – May 17, 2016

Armando Meras Chavez, 37, of Visalia, California, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a California-based cocaine trafficking organization. Chavez was one of two leaders within the organization, which imported kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Mexico, transported the cocaine across the country using tractor trailers, and sold it to a local cocaine distributor based in Dorchester.

Chavez and his co-defendant, Arturo Rodriguez Ornelaz, 39, of Sanger, California, pleaded guilty in November 2015 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribution of five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The charges resulted from a lengthy investigation that began in 2010 into the drug trafficking activities of the Chavez family, many of whom are Mexican nationals based in Washington and California. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately 50 kilograms of drugs and over $1 million in drug proceeds.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel R. Mendell and Katherine Ferguson of Ortiz’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division, Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, and Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement.

Chavez and Ornelaz were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release. The prison sentence is a result of their roles in importing and distributing cocaine in the United States.

The investigation into the Chavez family’s drug trafficking activities is a prime example of the ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle large-scale cocaine trafficking organizations. Law enforcement agencies will continue to work together to identify and prosecute those responsible for bringing large quantities of cocaine into our communities.

For more information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

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