Two New Jersey men were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl analogues from China and distributed them in pill form throughout Northern New Jersey.Nine individuals have been charged and convicted for their roles in this drug trafficking organization. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs. Thus far, five individuals have been sentenced to a total of 685 months in prison.
On July 7, Sean Tighe, 50, of North Haledon, New Jersey, was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Tighe previously pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl analogue pills and participating in a money laundering conspiracy. Tighe admitted that from approximately March 2014 to September 2020, he conspired to distribute over nine kilograms of furanyl fentanyl and nine kilograms of 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, synthetic cathinones (also known as bath salts), including ethylone; and ketamine. In addition, from March 2014 to May 2019, Tighe conspired to launder funds, including five wire payments from the United States to China to purchase controlled substances and/or controlled substance analogues.
On July 8, Juan Rodriguez, 51, of Irvington, New Jersey, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl analogues. During the conspiracy, Rodriguez obtained opioid pills from Sean Tighe and distributed them in Northern New Jersey.
Other members of the drug trafficking organization placed orders with a source in China and imported kilogram quantities of various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues to the United States. The drugs arrived through commercial package delivery services and air freight from China and were transported to Newark, New Jersey, where co-conspirators pressed the fentanyl analogue powder into fake prescription pills. The drugs were sold in bulk and pill form directly to consumers and other downstream distributors.
Other members of the conspiracy included Thomas Padovano, 52, of Newark, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 234 months in prison; William Panzera, 53, of North Haledon, New Jersey, who was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 144 months in prison; and Michael Action, 51, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Four other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing.Bartholomew Padovano is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29. Sentencing dates for the other co-conspirators have not been yet been scheduled.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) made the announcement.
The HSI Newark Field Office the investigation, with assistance from HSI in Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky, the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Stephen Sola, Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of MNF supported the investigation.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
