Vaughn Lewis, Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy, Massachusetts 2018

BOSTON – A Braintree man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston on drug trafficking charges.

Vaughn Lewis, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release. In April 2018, Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine.

Lewis, a Braintree resident, was identified by investigators as a Brockton-based drug dealer who was a customer of, and distributor for, Luis Rivera, a/k/a “Fat Louie,” a major cocaine supplier in the Brockton area.

According to court documents, Lewis had a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for drug trafficking in Massachusetts in 1997 and 2009. Lewis was arrested on June 9, 2016, at which time a search warrant was executed on his property.

During the search, drugs, drug trafficking paraphernalia and a loaded handgun were recovered. Lewis is one of 53 defendants indicted in June 2016 on federal firearms and drug charges following an investigation into a network of street gangs.

The investigation, which spanned several cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts, uncovered a gun and drug pipeline that was fueled by leaders, members, and associates of the 18th Street Gang, East Side Money Gang and the Boylston Street Gang.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and other law enforcement officials made the announcement today.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also acknowledges the assistance of the Suffolk and Middlesex County Sheriff Departments and the Malden, Revere and Everett Police Departments.

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