Federal Charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Heroin and Fentanyl: 60 Months.

A man was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts for conspiring to possess, with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. This indictment was the man’s second federal case, as he had previously served ten (10) years after being convicted of similar misconduct. His criminal history prompted the government to file an ‘information under 21 U.S.C. § 851,’ which is a sentencing enhancement. At the outset, the man’s charge alleged five kilograms or more of cocaine, which upon conviction calls, for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life. With the § 851 filing, the man’s sentencing exposure doubled to 20 years upon conviction. Upon passage of the First Step Act in December 2018, this became reduced to 15 years. The man retained Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter. Attorney Calcagni relentlessly fought the government on several issues, to include sufficiency of evidence, drug weight, search issues, and simultaneously, worked on mitigation. After nearly two years of wrestling over these issues, Attorney Calcagni finally negotiated a pretrial agreement that enabled his client to avoid exposure to a mandatory minimum jail sentence, and thereafter, successfully persuaded the Court – over the government’s objection – to impose a sentence of 60 months. This result represents 25% of the mandatory minimum jail the man faced when originally indicted, and 33% of what he faced following passage of the First Step Act, if convicted after trial.