BOSTON — Lynn resident Laurie Caruso, 51, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Monday for her role in a large-scale, drug-trafficking organization (DTO) that manufactured and distributed hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Caruso pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances.
On June 30, 2021, Caruso was arrested and charged along with co-conspirators Vincent Caruso, Ernest Johnson and Nicole Benton.
U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton scheduled her sentencing for June 29.
Caruso was a member of a DTO operated by her son, Vincent Caruso, a self-admitted Crip gang member, which included Johnson and Benton, according to the charging documents.
The DTO allegedly sold counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl, which were produced using multiple large pill presses to generate thousands of pills per hour to street gangs for further distribution along the North Shore, prosecutors said.
One counterfeit fentanyl pill retails between $10-$20, therefore generating millions in retail sales.
Caruso admitted to being a primary distributor of the pills for the DTO. This DTO historically manufactured its own counterfeit pills when it was based in Saugus, prosecutors said.
She also admitted to trafficking more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl, sold in the form of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Percocet pills containing pressed fentanyl, prosecutors said.
According to Monday’s hearing, after interdiction by law enforcement, the DTO outsourced its manufacturing and would receive deliveries of large quantities of fentanyl pills from Rhode Island. Once packaged, the DTO would repackage the pills and distribute them for sale in areas north of Boston.
As part of Caruso’s plea agreement, she agreed to hand over $100,000 in cash that was seized from the DTO, which were proceeds of drug trafficking.
Benton pleaded guilty on Sept. 30, 2021 to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Vincent Caruso and Johnson pleaded not guilty.
Vincent Caruso was indicted on Jan. 19, for his role and faces additional charges.
The charge of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, possess with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a mandatory sentence of five or 10 years, and maximum penalties of up to 40 years or life in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million.
