A Connecticut resident was sentenced by a federal court in Worcester for his involvement in a fentanyl trafficking scheme. Hector Soto Gonzalez, 44, received a 10-year prison sentence followed by five years of supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman. Gonzalez had previously been released from federal custody in May 2022 after serving a 70-month sentence for a narcotics conviction in the District of Puerto Rico.
In January 2024, Jose Mercado Aponte was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Soto Gonzalez became a significant supplier of fentanyl for Mercado Aponte as early as June 2023, supplying him with drugs that Mercado Aponte then provided to a cooperating witness (CW).
On November 13, 2023, Mercado Aponte arranged a fentanyl deal with the CW, coordinating the transaction through a series of communications and calls to Soto Gonzalez. That day, law enforcement officials observed Soto Gonzalez leaving his Hartford residence with an item he placed in his vehicle's trunk. Following a traffic stop in Massachusetts, approximately one kilogram of fentanyl was found in the vehicle.
The investigation involved several law enforcement agencies. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, James Crowley; Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police; and Commissioner Shawn Jenkins of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. Additional assistance was provided by various police departments from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit.