Current:Home > StocksDealer gets 30 years in prison after 3 people die of fentanyl poisoning on same day-LoTradeCoin
Dealer gets 30 years in prison after 3 people die of fentanyl poisoning on same day
View Date:2024-12-23 16:48:44
A man who ran a drug delivery service for over seven years and sold tainted drugs that killed three New York residents in one day has been sentenced to prison.
Billy Ortega, also known as "Jason" according to the Southern District of New York's U.S. Attorney's Office, was sentenced on Thursday after being convicted of multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute, possession of a firearm and distribution of drugs causing death.
Ortega, 37, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, the office said in a news release, and five years of supervised release.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ortega used a crew of workers — including family members and close friends — to distribute illicit drugs in New York City from 2015 to 2022. Ortega ran the drug delivery service via text message and acted as a dispatcher, coordinating deliveries between customers and couriers.
In March 2021, Ortega intentionally mixed fentanyl into a "weak batch of cocaine," according to the news release. That substance was then sold to at least five customers. The consumers did not know that the cocaine had fentanyl in it.
Even before the drugs were delivered to the three people who died on March 17, Ortega was informed by another customer that someone who had consumed the laced cocaine the day before had overdosed and needed to be hospitalized and given naloxone, a medication that reverses an opioid overdose.
After receiving the text, Ortega coordinated the deliveries of the laced drugs to Julia Ghahramani, Amanda Scher and Ross Mtangi, court documents said. All three victims died that day.
Later in the same day, Ortega asked another drug dealer if he wanted to give the cocaine to "some girls," telling the dealer via text message that others had said it was "to(o) strong." Ortega continued selling drugs for another year until he was arrested.
"Ortega's callous and remarkably evil conduct rightly deserved a significant sentence," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in the news release. "This sentence sends a message to the fentanyl traffickers causing the fentanyl epidemic in our communities that they will bear the most serious consequences."
- In:
- Opioid Epidemic
- Opioid Overdose
- Fentanyl
- New York City
- Southern District of New York
- New York
Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.
veryGood! (91)
Related
- Lunchables get early dismissal: Kraft Heinz pulls the iconic snack from school lunches
- In honor of Earth Day 2024, today's Google Doodle takes us on a trip around the world
- Pelosi says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign
- Don Steven McDougal indicted in murder, attempted kidnapping of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham
- Daniele Rustioni to become Metropolitan Opera’s principal guest conductor
- Missouri’s GOP lawmakers vote to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid
- 74-year-old Ohio woman charged in armed robbery of credit union was scam victim, family says
- Khloe Kardashian Has Welcomed an Adorable New Member to the Family
- John Krasinski named People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024
- North Carolina legislators return to adjust the budget and consider other issues
Ranking
- Taking stock of bonds: Does the 60/40 rule still have a role in retirement savings?
- Inside Coachella 2024's biggest moments
- Fast-food businesses hiking prices because of higher minimum wage sound like Gordon Gekko
- Summer Kitchen Must-Haves Starting at $8, Plus Kitchen Tools, Gadgets, and More
- Mother of Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym Details His Final Moments
- With lawsuits in rearview mirror, Disney World government gets back to being boring
- The NFL draft happening in Detroit is an important moment in league history. Here's why.
- Columbia extends deadline for accord with pro-Palestinian protesters
Recommendation
-
Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
-
Billie Eilish Details When She Realized She Wanted Her “Face in a Vagina”
-
Weapons chest and chain mail armor found in ancient shipwreck off Sweden
-
Where are the cicadas? Use this interactive map to find Brood XIX, Brood XIII in 2024
-
Jason Kelce Offers Up NSFW Explanation for Why Men Have Beards
-
Tesla profits plunge as it grapples with slumping electric vehicle sales
-
In honor of Earth Day 2024, today's Google Doodle takes us on a trip around the world
-
Supreme Court to weigh Trump immunity claim over 2020 election prosecution. Here are the details.