SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Adrian Esteras, 38, of Syracuse, NY was sentenced yesterday to serve 48 months in prison following his conviction for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division.
As part of his prior guilty plea, Esteras admitted that between May and July 2021, either he or his coconspirators distributed at least 8 grams of fentanyl. He also possessed at least 158 grams of cocaine that he kept at his residence and intended to distribute. Esteras had previously been convicted of seven felony offenses in state court. He was on state parole at the time he committed the federal offense.
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Esteras to a three-year term of supervised release to begin after he serves his term of imprisonment and ordered him to pay a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $3,909, which represented the proceeds from drug sales.
This case was investigated by the DEA-Syracuse Resident Office, which includes Task Force Officers from the City of Auburn Police Department, the City of Syracuse Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. Other agencies that assisted in this investigation included the New York State Police, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sutcliffe.