NORTH HALEDON, NJ – A Passaic County man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his role in an international drug trafficking and money laundering network that imported and sold massive quantities of fentanyl analogues and other controlled substances, federal authorities said.
According to court documents, 53-year-old William Panzera was part of a large-scale operation that sourced fentanyl analogues, MDMA, methylone, and ketamine from China and distributed them across New Jersey. Prosecutors said Panzera and his co-conspirators ordered the drugs in bulk and sold them both in raw form and as counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that were actually laced with fentanyl analogues.
Investigators determined that the organization imported more than a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other narcotics into the United States. To finance the operation, the group wired hundreds of thousands of dollars and transferred Bitcoin to Chinese suppliers, concealing the proceeds of their trafficking activities.
- William Panzera convicted of drug trafficking and international money laundering
- Network imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances from China
- Eight additional defendants previously pleaded guilty in related prosecutions
Panzera was convicted at trial in January 2025 of drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy. Eight other defendants connected to the network have pleaded guilty in related cases.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced the sentence. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations’ Newark Field Division with support from the FBI Newark Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Stephen Sola of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey, with financial analysis support from Investigator Kathryn Montemorra.