Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
BOSTON – A member of a violent criminal enterprise was sentenced yesterday for her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large amounts of cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine) throughout Western Massachusetts.
Khristy Guzman, 39, of Holyoke, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and 24 months of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Guzman pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2023.
According to court documents, Guzman was identified as a member of a violent criminal enterprise in Springfield. During the investigation, controlled purchases and intercepted communications allegedly between Vincente Gonzalez and his co-conspirators, including Guzman, revealed that, beginning in or about April of 2021, the defendants allegedly prepared and trafficked large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine in the Holyoke and Springfield areas.
In furtherance of the trafficking activity, the enterprise used violence and threats of violence to allegedly control Gonzalez’s territory on Elm Street in Holyoke. Guzman’s role in the conspiracy was to manage the day-to-day sales of cocaine allegedly occurring in Gonzalez’s territory on Elm Street. According to the court documents, the Government argued that Guzman, and allegedly her co-conspirators, aided in making local residents, including children, feel like prisoners in their own homes. The simple act of going outside put residents in direct contact with violence and exposed them to be witnesses to countless crimes.
Guzman is the second defendant to be sentenced in this case. Miguel Burgos was sentenced in September 2023 to 60 months in federal prison, followed by a term of four years of supervised release. Brigham Ocasio-Ramos is expected plead guilty on Feb. 28, 2024. Vincente Gonzalez is scheduled for a jury trial on May 6, 2024.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt; and Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police’s Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team and the Hampden District Attorney’s Office’s Strategic Action and Focused Enforcement Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.