BOSTON - Federal charges were unsealed today against two individuals in the Mason Square area of Springfield who were charged with drug trafficking violations involving crack cocaine.
Jesus Santiago, 27, was charged in an indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, and one count of distribution of cocaine base. Bryan Murph, 22, was charged in an indictment with two counts of distribution of cocaine base. The indictments allege that Santiago and Murph distributed cocaine base on various dates in January and February of 2012.
If convicted, Santiago and Murph each face up to 20 years in prison to be followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Division; Mark Mastroianni, Hampden County District Attorney; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner William Fitchet of the Springfield Police Department; and Michael J. Ashe, Jr., Hampden County Sheriff made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force, consisting of law enforcement personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Massachusetts State Police, the Springfield Police Department, and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI’s Gang Task Force is assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Office.
The details contained in the indictments are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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