NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his role in a Passaic County cocaine distribution conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Kiuny Perez, 44, of Rockaway Township, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
The defendant was part of a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine in and around Passaic County. In November 2017, law enforcement officers observed Perez and a co-defendant meet at a location in Passaic and exchange a package containing cocaine. Law enforcement officers stopped Perez’s vehicle and found cocaine in a hidden compartment underneath the dashboard. Law enforcement officers also discovered $297,350 in cash in Perez’s residence.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Perez to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.