Brockton Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Distribution

BOSTON – A Brockton man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to cocaine distribution.

Chad Benjamin, a/k/a “Life,” 41, pleaded guilty to distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base, a/k/a crack cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Oct. 9, 2019. 

Benjamin was responsible for distributing approximately 53 grams of cocaine base in June 2018.

This case was part of Operation Landshark, a federal investigation that targeted impact players and repeat offenders in Brockton and Boston, each of whom had prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses, and/or drug trafficking. It is alleged that many of the Operation Landshark targets are among the top 30 criminal offenders responsible for violent acts and firearms in Brockton.

The charge of distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base provides for a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $5 million fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins; Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Plymouth and Essex County Sheriff’s Offices; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; U.S. Parole Commission; U.S. Postal Inspection Services; and the U.S. Secret Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

Operation Landshark is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.