Mario Rafael Dominguez-Ortiz, Fentanyl Trafficking, Massachusetts 2024

A Cranston, R.I. man has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a fentanyl trafficking organization that distributed the deadly drug throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Mario Rafael Dominguez-Ortiz, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to one year and a day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In May 2024, Dominguez-Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The investigation into the DTO, led by Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara, began in March 2021 and identified Dominguez-Ortiz as a member of the organization who delivered fentanyl on four occasions between July and November 2021. The total amount of fentanyl delivered was approximately 500 grams.

On February 5, 2025, Ortiz-Alcantara is scheduled to be sentenced for his involvement in the DTO. United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira, and Fairhaven Police Chief Michael J. Myers, made the announcement today.

The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, and several local police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.