Barry Diaz, Oxycodone Conspiracy, Maine 2013

Bangor, ME – In a major blow to the state’s illicit opioid trade, Barry Diaz, a 32-year-old Stamford, Connecticut resident, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for his involvement in a massive oxycodone conspiracy.

According to court documents, Diaz and his co-conspirators acquired oxycodone pills from outside of Maine, with some coming from individuals in Connecticut who diverted lawfully issued oxycodone prescriptions, while others were obtained in bulk from California and elsewhere.

The pills were then transported to Maine by Diaz or other conspirators, who distributed them to street-level dealers in Kennebec County and beyond. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized over 600 30-mg oxycodone pills from members of the conspiracy.

The evidence presented at the trial of Diaz’s co-defendant, Mark Razo, revealed that Diaz and Razo operated the interstate drug conspiracy while Razo was serving a drug sentence in a California state prison. Razo used contraband cellular telephones from inside the prison to arrange transactions, recruit couriers, and orchestrate the transport of drugs across the United States.

Diaz, Razo’s point person for distribution, played a crucial role in the operation, which also involved a four-pound methamphetamine shipment seized in Iowa. The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, and other local and federal agencies.

The investigation was part of the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

Barry Diaz, Defendant, exact criminal charges: Conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and unlawful use of a telephone; City and state: Stamford, Connecticut; Exact date: December 20, 2013; Sentence or outcome: 22 and a half years in prison to be followed by 6 years of supervised release.

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