Matthew Lee Cordero, Oxycodone Trafficking, West Virginia 2015

Drug Trafficking in the Mountain State

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a scheme to traffic oxycodone in West Virginia.

Matthew Lee Cordero, 32, of Vineland, New Jersey, was sentenced to 151 months in prison for oxycodone trafficking, announced United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.

Cordero was engaged in a scheme to procure oxycodone from sources in Detroit, New Jersey, and Florida for redistribution in the Northern District of West Virginia. Specifically, Cordero sold oxycodone in Randolph County in October 2014.

He pled guilty in February 2015 to one count of “Distribution of Oxycodone.”

The investigation into Cordero's activities was conducted by the Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, the United States Forest Service, the West Virginia State Police, the Randolph and Upshur County Sheriff's Offices, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, and the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided over the sentencing hearing.

Cordero's crimes are a reminder of the ongoing struggle against drug trafficking in the Mountain State.

As the Grimy Times continues to investigate and report on the issue, we will bring you updates on any new developments.

Meanwhile, another defendant, Arthur Pritt, 38, of Archer, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for marijuana trafficking.

Pritt repeatedly obtained marijuana from sources in California and Pennsylvania from December 2008 through December 2014 and arranged for the drugs to be transported across state lines into Randolph County, West Virginia for redistribution and sale.

He pled guilty in February 2015 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.

The sentencing hearings mark the end of two significant cases in the ongoing battle against drug trafficking in West Virginia.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/new-jersey-man-sentenced-12-years-drug-trafficking