Franklyn Morillo Pleads Guilty to Oxycodone, Cocaine Conspiracy

Franklyn Morillo, 41, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge tied to the widespread distribution of oxycodone and cocaine across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The plea, entered before U.S. District Judge Steven J. McAuliffe in Concord, seals Morillo’s role in a sprawling narcotics network that law enforcement has been dismantling since 2015.

Court documents reveal Morillo admitted to working with a network of co-conspirators to traffic controlled substances, funneling drugs through communities strangled by the opioid crisis. The operation unraveled in August 2015 when a search warrant executed at his Haverhill residence turned up over $18,000 in cash and a stash of cocaine. The raid marked the beginning of the end for the ring.

Less than two months later, on October 1, 2015, Morillo was arrested. Police recovered a cache of oxycodone pills and more than $2,000 in cash during the arrest, further cementing the evidence against him. Prosecutors say the operation was part of a larger, coordinated drug trafficking effort stretching across state lines, leveraging quiet neighborhoods for high-volume narcotics sales.

Morillo is one of six defendants indicted by a federal grand jury on September 23, 2015. Others charged include Mara Morillo, 41, of Haverhill; Juan Rojas, 32, of Haverhill; Justin Bartimus, 35, formerly of Methuen, Massachusetts; Jorge Medina, 25, of Haverhill; and Michael Lally, 28, of Salem, New Hampshire. All were hit with charges of conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances.

Rojas faces additional heat: charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and separately indicted for conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Meanwhile, Lally, Bartimus, and Mara Morillo have already pleaded guilty and now await sentencing. Medina and Rojas remain behind bars, awaiting trial.

The case was spearheaded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad leading the charge. Support came from the Haverhill and Methuen Police Departments, along with the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley is handling the prosecution. Sentencing for Franklyn Morillo is set for March 7, 2017.