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Date: 09-11-2018
Case Style:
District of Rhode Island Federal Courthouse - Providence, Rhode Island
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Case Number: 1:17-cr-00053-WES-LDA-1
Judge: William E. Smith
Court: United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (Providence County)
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney:
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Description: Providence, RI - Heroin Trafficker Sentenced to Federal Prison
An Ohio man who admitted in court to his association with an Attleboro, MA, woman and others who supplied him with significant quantities of heroin, which he then sold in Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence on on September 10, 2018 to 48 months in federal prison on drug trafficking charges.
Michael Miller, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and his drug trafficking, came to the attention of law enforcement during a Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation into the Attleboro woman’s drug trafficking activities. The investigation determined that Miller’s association with Olga Lidia Sandoval, 40, of Attleboro, came as the result of Miller’s friendship with one of Sandoval’s brothers, who was shipping significant quantities of heroin to Olga Sandoval from Guatemala through Mexico and into Rhode Island.
Some of the heroin imported by Olga Sandoval was provided to Miller, which he then resold in Ohio. A significant share of the proceeds from the sale of the heroin were paid to the Sandoval brothers in Guatemala.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Miller to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. Miller pled guilty on May 10, 2018, to conspiracy to distribute heroin and use of a communication facility (cell phone) in the commission of a felony under the Controlled Substance Act.
As stipulated in a plea agreement filed with the Court, the government and the defense recommended the court impose a sentence of 48 months incarceration. The U.S. Sentencing Guideline imprisonment range in this matter is 87-108 months.
Miller’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh.
Olga Lidia Sandoval pleaded guilty on May 1, 2017, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. She was sentenced on June 29, 2017, to 84 months in federal prison.
Sandoval’s co-defendants, Jose Luis Amparo Nova, 35, of North Providence, pleaded guilty on January 16, 2017, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. He was sentenced on July 14, 2017 to 48 months in federal prison. Ivan K. Alvarado, 39, of Spring Valley, NY, pleaded guilty on August 11, 2017, to conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. He was sentenced on October 27, 2017, to 36 months in federal prison.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.
United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch acknowledges and thanks Drug Enforcement Administration for their assistance in the investigations of these matters.
Charges:
21:846 - CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE HEROIN
(1)
21:843(b) and (d) - USE OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN CAUSING OR FACILITATING THE COMMISSION OF FELONIES UNDER THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT
(2)
§846. Attempt and conspiracy
Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense defined in this subchapter shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy.
§843. Prohibited acts C
(a) Unlawful acts
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally—
(1) who is a registrant to distribute a controlled substance classified in schedule I or II, in the course of his legitimate business, except pursuant to an order or an order form as required by section 828 of this title;
(2) to use in the course of the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance, or to use for the purpose of acquiring or obtaining a controlled substance, a registration number which is fictitious, revoked, suspended, expired, or issued to another person;
(3) to acquire or obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge;
(4)(A) to furnish false or fraudulent material information in, or omit any material information from, any application, report, record, or other document required to be made, kept, or filed under this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter, or (B) to present false or fraudulent identification where the person is receiving or purchasing a listed chemical and the person is required to present identification under section 830(a) of this title;
(5) to make, distribute, or possess any punch, die, plate, stone, or other thing designed to print, imprint, or reproduce the trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, or device of another or any likeness of any of the foregoing upon any drug or container or labeling thereof so as to render such drug a counterfeit substance;
(6) to possess any three-neck round-bottom flask, tableting machine, encapsulating machine, or gelatin capsule, or any equipment, chemical, product, or material which may be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical, knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe, that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical in violation of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter;
(7) to manufacture, distribute, export, or import any three-neck round-bottom flask, tableting machine, encapsulating machine, or gelatin capsule, or any equipment, chemical, product, or material which may be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical, knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe, that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical in violation of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter or, in the case of an exportation, in violation of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter or of the laws of the country to which it is exported;
(8) to create a chemical mixture for the purpose of evading a requirement of section 830 of this title or to receive a chemical mixture created for that purpose; or
(9) to distribute, import, or export a list I chemical without the registration required by this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter.
(b) Communication facility
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to use any communication facility in committing or in causing or facilitating the commission of any act or acts constituting a felony under any provision of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter. Each separate use of a communication facility shall be a separate offense under this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term “communication facility” means any and all public and private instrumentalities used or useful in the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds of all kinds and includes mail, telephone, wire, radio, and all other means of communication.
(c) Advertisement
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to place in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publications, any written advertisement knowing that it has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule 1 I controlled substance. As used in this section the term “advertisement” includes, in addition to its ordinary meaning, such advertisements as those for a catalog of Schedule 1 I controlled substances and any similar written advertisement that has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule 1 I controlled substance. The term “advertisement” does not include material which merely advocates the use of a similar material, which advocates a position or practice, and does not attempt to propose or facilitate an actual transaction in a Schedule 1 I controlled substance.
(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally use the Internet, or cause the Internet to be used, to advertise the sale of, or to offer to sell, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance where such sale, distribution, or dispensing is not authorized by this subchapter or by the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act [21 U.S.C. 951 et seq.].
(B) Examples of activities that violate subparagraph (A) include, but are not limited to, knowingly or intentionally causing the placement on the Internet of an advertisement that refers to or directs prospective buyers to Internet sellers of controlled substances who are not registered with a modification under section 823(f) of this title.
(C) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to material that either—
(i) merely advertises the distribution of controlled substances by nonpractitioners to the extent authorized by their registration under this subchapter; or
(ii) merely advocates the use of a controlled substance or includes pricing information without attempting to facilitate an actual transaction involving a controlled substance.
(d) Penalties
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who violates this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 4 years, a fine under title 18, or both; except that if any person commits such a violation after one or more prior convictions of him for violation of this section, or for a felony under any other provision of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter or other law of the United States relating to narcotic drugs, marihuana, or depressant or stimulant substances, have become final, such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 8 years, a fine under title 18, or both.
(2) Any person who, with the intent to manufacture or to facilitate the manufacture of methamphetamine, violates paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection (a) of this section, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine under title 18, or both; except that if any person commits such a violation after one or more prior convictions of that person—
(A) for a violation of paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection (a) of this section;
(B) for a felony under any other provision of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter; or
(C) under any other law of the United States or any State relating to controlled substances or listed chemicals,
has become final, such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, a fine under title 18, or both.
(e) Additional penalties
In addition to any other applicable penalty, any person convicted of a felony violation of this section relating to the receipt, distribution, manufacture, exportation, or importation of a listed chemical may be enjoined from engaging in any transaction involving a listed chemical for not more than ten years.
(f) Injunctions
(1) In addition to any penalty provided in this section, the Attorney General is authorized to commence a civil action for appropriate declaratory or injunctive relief relating to violations of this section, section 842 of this title, or 856 2 of this title.
(2) Any action under this subsection may be brought in the district court of the United States for the district in which the defendant is located or resides or is doing business.
(3) Any order or judgment issued by the court pursuant to this subsection shall be tailored to restrain violations of this section or section 842 of this title.
(4) The court shall proceed as soon as practicable to the hearing and determination of such an action. An action under this subsection is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure except that, if an indictment has been returned against the respondent, discovery is governed by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Outcome: 48 months incarceration as to Counts I and II; to be served concurrently with each other. Supervised Release for 3 years as to Counts I and II; to run concurrently with each other, with special conditions. Special Assessment of $100.00. No fine imposed.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: