Luis Aponte, Fentanyl Conspiracy, New Jersey 2019

TWO MEN ADMIT TO FENTANYL CONSPIRACY AFTER SEIZURE OF FENTANYL AND HEROIN IN NEW JERSEY REST STOP

In a shocking turn of events, two men have admitted to their roles in a drug distribution conspiracy in connection with the seizure of fentanyl and heroin at a New Jersey rest stop, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Luis Aponte, 48, of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin. Denny Diaz, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on September 10, 2019.

According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Aponte drove a tractor-trailer truck to a rest stop in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, on March 1, 2019. The next day, he met Diaz in a car and gave Diaz approximately six kilograms of fentanyl. Both men were arrested shortly thereafter. Law enforcement officers searched Aponte’s truck at the rest stop and found an additional two kilograms of fentanyl and 11 kilograms of heroin inside.

The charge to which the defendants have pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and a maximum fine of $10 million. Sentencing for Aponte is scheduled for February 6, 2020, and for Diaz, December 16, 2019.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division; New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill; and N.Y. State Police Acting Superintendent Keith M. Corlett with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. This case is being investigated by the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/two-men-admit-drug-conspiracy-after-seizure-fentanyl-and-heroin