Prison Time For Providence Man In Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy Case

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Miguel Colon, 36, pled guilty to acting as a middleman, buying and selling cocaine, as a member of a drug trafficking conspiracy, said United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Colon pleaded guilty on Aug. 24, 2022, to a single charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

An FBI Safe Streets Task Force investigation revealed that, on multiple occasions, Colon purchased various quantities of cocaine from a supplier, and that he was in the business of reselling the drugs to others. Colon also offered to help his supplier gain access to kilogram quantities of drugs, officials said.

On Sept. 16, 2021, members of the FBI Task Force executed a court-authorized search of Colon’s apartment and seized over five grams of cocaine, as well items used in the packaging and sale of drugs.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy recently sentenced Colon to forty-six months of incarceration to be followed by three years of federal supervised release.

The person from whom Colon allegedly purchased cocaine, William Mendez, 47, is awaiting trial in federal court. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute forty grams or more of fentanyl.