Holyoke Businessman Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute More than One Kilogram of Heroin and Cocaine

 Agents seized over 40 kilograms of cocaine, 14 kilograms of heroin and more than $1 million in cash

BOSTON – A Holyoke businessmen pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 to participating in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy.

Javier Gonzalez, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and five kilograms of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Mark. G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing June 25, 2021.

Gonzalez admitted that from 2011 to March 25, 2014, he conspired with others to obtain large quantities of heroin and cocaine from Texas, transport the drugs to Holyoke and distribute them in western Massachusetts. On March 25, 2014, law enforcement officers seized approximately $1.17 million in cash secreted in a hidden compartment inside a tractor trailer being driven by Gonzalez to Texas as payment for kilograms of heroin and cocaine. In addition, the agents seized 14 kilograms of heroin and 42 kilograms of cocaine in Texas that was destined to be distributed by Gonzalez in western Massachusetts.

Gonzalez faces a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt; and Easthampton Police Chief Robert Alberti made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches in Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.