BOSTON - A Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to fentanyl, cocaine, firearms and money laundering charges.

Joseph Correa, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and other controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2025. Correa was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2022 along with 20 co-conspirators.

Correa was the target of a long-term investigation into a network of fentanyl and cocaine distributors based in and around Lawrence. Correa obtained fentanyl from local suppliers and he and co-defendants and brothers, Jose Martinez and Luis Martinez, regularly traveled to Puerto Rico to purchase wholesale quantities of cocaine, which they mailed to addresses in New England for redistribution in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Correa employed co-defendants, and an uncharged co-conspirator, to store and process drugs at their residences and distribute drugs on his behalf. Correa was regularly intercepted over court-authorized wiretaps discussing distribution of fentanyl and cocaine and obtaining, possessing and using firearms. He and co-defendant Mayi Rosario conspired to launder drug proceeds via various financial transactions and purchases. During the course of the investigation, fluorofentanyl, fentanyl, cocaine and drug proceeds were seized from Correa and his associates and from packages mailed by or for Correa. On Dec. 15, 2021, Correa was arrested in Caguas, Puerto Rico. At the time of his arrest, Correa was holding a loaded firearm that had a Glock slide and a privately manufactured grip, and that had been converted into a fully automatic weapon.

In May 2024, Jose Martinez was sentenced to 90 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Luis Martinez pleaded guilty in August 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2025. Rosario was sentenced to 30 months in prison, to be followed by one year of home detention and 26 months of supervised release.

The drug conspiracy charge provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a life term in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a life term of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of up at least five years and up to life in prison, to run consecutive to the sentence imposed on the drug conspiracy count, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The cocaine possession and money laundering charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by supervised release of at least three years and up to life on the drug charge and maximum of three years on the money laundering charge and fines of up to $1 million on the drug charge and up to $500,000 or twice the value of the funds laundered on the money laundering charge. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Lawrence Police Department; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Essex County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Ferguson and J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.