Corpus Christi Brothers Get Significant Sentences for Fentanyl Manufacturing
In a major blow to the fentanyl epidemic, two Corpus Christi brothers, Chad Williams Wesevich, 40, and his brother Jamie Wesevich, 41, have been ordered to federal prison for manufacturing and distributing tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills disguised as legitimate pharmaceutical-grade pain medications.
According to the U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, the brothers pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered both men to serve a total of 35 years in prison – 360 and 240 months concurrently on the drug and money laundering charges, respectively, as well as a consecutive 60 months on the firearm charge.
The court noted that the brothers possessed a network of friends and family who had said supportive and loving things in letters requesting leniency, but that those letters must be tempered against the facts that people had overdosed on these pills.
“We can’t get those people back,” said Judge Morales.
“Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, account for almost 70% of drug overdose deaths in the United States, and Corpus Christi is no stranger to this new epidemic,” said Hamdani. “The dismantling of this deadly drug trafficking organization, including the seizure of two industrial fentanyl pill presses, has made Corpus Christi a better and safer place to live.”
The investigation, led by the DEA, revealed that between 2017 and 2021, the Wesevich brothers acquired equipment and materials from foreign sources, which were used to manufacture pills disguised as legitimate medications such as hydrocodone.
The equipment included two industrial pill presses capable of producing 9,000 pills per hour.
The fraudulent hydrocodone was distributed through a network of trusted associates throughout Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas.
The pills the Wesevich brothers manufactured were linked to several overdoses, both fatal and non-fatal.
As a result of this investigation, authorities seized tens of thousands of counterfeit hydrocodone pills containing over 1,500 grams of fentanyl, as well as pill presses, pill dies, vacuums, separators, and other tools used in the illicit production of fentanyl-laced pills.
In addition, law enforcement seized seven vehicles, five houses, seven guns, and $350,000 in cryptocurrency and bulk cash.
The brothers have been in custody since their arrests in May 2022 and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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