SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Carlos Esteras, 41, of Syracuse, NY was sentenced today to serve 84 months in prison following his conviction for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing fentanyl 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 June and July 2021, he conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Syracuse, NY area. Esteras personally distributed or possessed with intent to distribute at least 124 grams of fentanyl. Esteras had previously been convicted of three felony and 15 misdemeanor offenses in state court.
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Esteras to a four-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 $5,760, 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.