NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man today admitted distribution and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Jose Migel Cleto, 64, of Manhattan, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April 2022, Cleto distributed, and possessed with the intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl to a man in a commercial parking lot in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Cleto faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.