United States of America v. Raul Silva

New York, New York criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with selling thousands of doses of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and heroin

Recidivist Drug Trafficker Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Causing Fatal Fentanyl Poisoning Of 66-Year-Old Victim

RAUL SILVA was indicted for selling thousands of doses of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and heroin, the use of which resulted in the July 2019 death of a 66-year-old woman (the "Victim”), to whom SILVA had sold drugs for years.



Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: "Raul Silva made a career of endangering lives by distributing illegal narcotics, some of which were laced with deadly fentanyl and acetyl. Silva's disregard for others eventually caused the tragic and untimely death of a 66-year-old woman, who overdosed on a laced dose supplied by Silva. I thank our career prosecutors and agency partners for their determination and vigilance in holding Silva, and dealers like him, accountable.”



Between February 2019 and July 2019, SILVA and his co-defendant conspired to sell to an undercover New York City Police Department ("NYPD”) officer, on eight separate occasions, more than 4,000 glassines containing varying combinations of fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs. These repeated drug sales followed years of narcotics trafficking and other criminal activity by SILVA, which resulted in 14 prior criminal convictions, including 10 prior narcotics convictions dating back to 1987.



In addition, SILVA was the longtime drug supplier of the Victim, a 66-year-old woman residing in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. On July 11, 2019, SILVA met the Victim near her residence to sell her several glassines containing fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and heroin. The Victim died in her apartment shortly thereafter, after consuming the narcotics sold to her by SILVA. The Victim's body was discovered two days later by her daughter, who was completing her medical residency in Virginia at the time, and who traveled to the Victim's apartment on the evening of July 13, 2019, after being repeatedly unable to reach her mother.