Salem man admits to role in conspiracy to sell fentanyl disguised as Percocet

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Julie Manganis, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Apr. 27—PEABODY — One of two North Shore men charged with making a deal to sell more than 10 pounds of the synthetic opiate fentanyl disguised as Percocet pills pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug conspiracy charges.

Jose Esmerlin Diaz, 37, of Salem, is facing a mandatory minimum 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 9.

A co-defendant in the case, Peabody business owner Manuel Tejeda, 40, is due in court next week for a status hearing in his case.

The two men were charged back in January 2020 following an investigation that involved a cooperating witness.

Prosecutor Craig Estes told U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton that if the case went to trial, he would prove that Diaz, Tejeda and others discussed a deal to sell 4.6 kilograms — just over 10 pounds — of fentanyl that had been put into a pill press and made to look like 30 milligram Percocet pills.

That size of Percocet pill at the time would have been selling on the street for $6 each.

Police were watching as Diaz met with the cooperating witness in a Woburn parking lot on Jan. 17, 2020. He had some of the drugs. The rest were found in a pickup truck that showed up shortly afterward with Tejeda and a third man, who was not indicted. Estes said the total amount seized in Woburn that day was 4.6 kilograms.

More pills, cash and a pill press were found in a Public Storage storage locker in Salem, court papers say.

Estes told the judge that there was no formal plea agreement in place with Diaz.

Diaz's attorney, Murat Erkan, pointed out to the judge that numerous family members and friends were watching via Zoom during Diaz's plea hearing on Tuesday. Prior to the start of the pandemic, many had also attended proceedings in person.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

Recommended Stories

  • Emilia Clarke on the book that helped her to grieve for her dad

    Jenny Diski's writing was "tonic for the soul" for the Game of Thrones star after her father died.

  • Huarong Mess Shows China Needs U.S.-Style Financial Reform

    (Bloomberg) -- Drama around the future of one of China’s biggest bad-debt managers is highlighting the urgent need for the country to simplify oversight of its financial system.As investors looked for clarity over a possible restructuring of state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Co., the issue was made more complex by the number of government agencies involved.There’s the finance ministry, which is the company’s majority shareholder. It may sell its stake to the sovereign wealth fund, thereby transferring responsibility, according to a Bloomberg News report. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has its say as a top watchdog, and has asked banks to extend loans to China Huarong by at least six months, another report said. The central bank, which is considering taking on some assets, is required to step in as part of its mandate to maintain overall financial stability.Above them there’s the Financial Stability and Development Committee, chaired by Vice Premier Liu He -- a key adviser to President Xi Jinping. There are signs the influential body will expand its remit and increase oversight of local financial institutions.The CBIRC is the only agency to have publicly commented on China Huarong, though regulators have held several meetings to discuss the company’s fate, people familiar with the matter have said.How China handles the growing challenges to its financial system is becoming more relevant to global markets. With unprecedented capital inflows and wider access for Chinese money to invest overseas, it’s never been more important for Beijing to strengthen its regulation in a transparent way.Central bank Deputy Governor Liu Guiping urged reforms in a detailed article in March. China’s has “scattered” financial rules and could learn from the set-up in the U.S., which has the Dodd-Frank Act, and other major economies that overhauled their financial regulations in recent decades, he wrote. Liu’s main takeaway: China needs a coordinated financial stability law.Liu submitted the proposal to the National People’s Congress and suggested introducing the legislation “as soon as possible when conditions are ripe.” Completion of such legislation may take three to five years, according to Yang Zhaoquan, a partner at Beijing Weinuo Lawfirm.“Risky incidents have emerged one after another, harming the marketplace and damaging financial and social stability,” said Yang. “This calls urgently for more powerful legal tools.”For a government obsessed with control, the Communist Party’s oversight of its $54 trillion financial system -- which includes the world’s largest banking industry -- looks disjointed. A lack of oversight allowed companies like China Huarong to dabble in risky businesses, and meant that others like Ant Group Co. grew far too influential.When China started to experiment with market-oriented reforms in the late 1970s, the People’s Bank of China was the only authority responsible for managing and overseeing the financial system.The subsequent economic boom led to the creation of multiple commercial banks, insurers and brokerages, prompting the government to set up separate watchdogs for each industry and relieve the PBOC from day-to-day oversight. First came a securities regulator in 1992, followed by an insurance regulator in 1998 and a dedicated banking regulator in 2003.China dealt with the 2008 global financial crisis with an impromptu plan reliant on debt, resulting in the bloated financial system the country has today. Fueled by asset management products and peer-to-peer lending, shadow banking assets grew to $10 trillion in the decade that followed. The market was a lifeline for cash-strapped Chinese companies with no access to regular bank loans.But then came the crackdown on financial risk. Since Xi made deleveraging a top priority in 2017, China has given more power to the PBOC and increased efforts to consolidate its many regulatory bodies by merging the banking and insurance watchdogs. Chinese banks may still have 3 trillion yuan ($463 billion) in legacy wealth-management products to clean up before an end-2021 deadline, according to S&P Global Ratings.The country’s rapid integration with the global financial system means a bolder strategy is needed to strengthen its patchwork of rules and regulations.“China used to be closed off,” said Liu Feng, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities Co. “But now, foreign capital is flowing in and our capital is going out, and that requires our law and regulation to match that of other countries.”(Adds latest on regulator guidance to third paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • New video shows deputies arriving at Andrew Brown's home before fatal shooting

    The video was captured by an Elizabeth City camera. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said it shows a "militarized police force."

  • Australia Core Prices Slow to Record Low in Policy Challenge

    (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s core inflation decelerated to the slowest pace on record as government programs lowered costs in the economy, highlighting the scale of the Reserve Bank’s challenge to reignite stronger price growth.Annual trimmed mean core inflation eased to 1.1% in the first quarter, the weakest reading in a series dating back to 1983, versus an estimated 1.2% gain, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney Wednesday. The gauge, the RBA’s preferred measure, advanced 0.3% from the final three months of last year, compared with economists’ estimates of a 0.5% rise.“Core inflation is likely to remain weak for some time,” said Sarah Hunter, chief economist for BIS Oxford Economics. “Wages growth remains subdued and demand for many services is still recovering to pre-pandemic levels, which will limit any immediate pressures on prices.”The Australian dollar slid after the release and was trading at 77.39 U.S. cents at 12:56 p.m. in Sydney. Australia’s 10-year bond yields erased earlier gains, while stocks advanced.Compounding its challenge, the RBA recently adjusted its inflation framework to allow the economy to run a little hotter, saying it won’t raise interest rates until prices are actually -- not forecast to be -- sustainably within the 2-3% target. That’s likely to be a prolonged wait given both core inflation and wages are now hovering around record lows.Governor Philip Lowe has said he doesn’t expect to raise rates until 2024 at the earliest, based on his expectation that wages will need to be rising by more than 3% on a sustainable basis in order to fuel faster inflation.Today’s report showed the headline consumer price index rose 0.6% from the final three months of last year, compared with economists’ estimates of a 0.9% gain. It increased 1.1% from a year earlier versus an estimated 1.4% increase.“The introduction, continuation and conclusion of a number of government schemes remained a factor in the March quarter,” said Michelle Marquardt, head of Prices Statistics at the ABS. “The fall in new dwelling prices was due to the impact of the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder grant and similar grants by the Western Australian and Tasmanian state governments.”Global FactorsLowe is not alone among central bankers struggling to rekindle consumer-price growth. His Japanese colleague Haruhiko Kuroda is set to fail to reach his goal of stable 2% price growth during his term after what will have been more than a decade of stimulus. In contrast, Canada last week accelerated its timetable for a possible rate rise as inflation gathered strength.The RBA, like its U.S. and and European peers, maintains it will persist with stimulus as it tries to drive the economy toward full employment. The Federal Reserve has said it won’t scale back the pace of its $120 billion-a-month bond purchases until it sees “substantial further progress” on jobs and inflation.Among global influences on local prices, crude oil recovered through the latter part of 2020 and the first few months of this year. Yet, a stronger Australian dollar might have helped curb some of the flow through to pump prices.Today’s Australian inflation report showed tradables prices, which are typically impacted by the currency and global factors, rose 1.1% in the first quarter from the previous three months. Non-tradables, which are largely affected by domestic variables like utilities and rents, advanced 0.4%.Other details in the report include:The most significant rises in the March quarter were automotive fuel jumping 8.7%, medical and hospital services up 1.5% and pharmaceutical products gaining 5.3%.A 7.3% rise in prices for accessories reflected high consumer confidence and demand for discretionary items, the ABS saidGovernment programs saw 0.1% falls in new dwelling prices and a 1.7% drop in tertiary educationRents fell 1.4% from a year earlier, the largest annual fall on record for the seriesThe weighted-median gauge, another core measure, advanced 0.4% from the fourth quarter for an annual increase of 1.3%, compared with forecast rises of 0.5% and 1.3%, respectively.The RBA meets Tuesday and is expected to keep its key policy instruments unchanged: the cash rate and three-year yield target at 0.1%; and a quantitative easing program involving A$5 billion ($4 billion) a week of purchases.(Updates with comment from economist in third paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Zhao, McDormand backstage at the Oscars

    Video shows Oscar winners including "Nomadland" director Chloé Zhao and the best picture-winning film's producer and star Frances McDormand backstage at the Academy Awards. (April 27)

  • Largest firefighting plane may be sold for COVID-19 response

    As Western states prepare for this year’s wildfire season, the world’s largest firefighting plane has been grounded and could be converted to help fight against another crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. After investing tens of millions into upgrading the Global SuperTanker and its technology, the revenue coming mostly from contracts with the U.S. government and California did not produce enough profit for the company to continue the funding the tanker, said Roger Miller, managing director at Alterna Capital Partners LLC, the investment company that owns the plane. Alterna's decision to ground the SuperTanker was made on April 19, according to the firm, which had funded the plane’s operations and upgrades since 2016.

  • U.S. sending India help 'immediately': Biden

    India is now the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic as a second wave of infections has driven the death toll up to almost 200,000.On Tuesday, vital medical supplies began to reach the country of 1.35 billion people but hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds still were turning away coronavirus patients.The United States and other countries pledged urgent medical aid to try to contain the emergency in India.

  • How magic shrooms affect your brain

    Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in "magic" mushrooms, triggers changes in your brain that may help combat depression and addiction.

  • Bill to kill up to 90% of Idaho wolves heads to governor

    The Idaho House on Tuesday approved legislation allowing the state to hire private contractors and expand methods to kill wolves roaming Idaho — a measure that could cut the wolf population by 90%. Lawmakers voted 58-11 to send the agriculture industry-backed bill to Republican Gov. Brad Little. Backers said changes to Idaho law could help reduce the wolf population from about 1,500 to 150, alleviating wolf attacks on cattle, sheep and wildlife.

  • OnlyFans has boomed during lockdown. Users spent $2.4 billion on the adult-entertainment site in 2020, and 120 million people now use it.

    OnlyFans, the adult-content sharing site, now has 120 million users. Creators sell video clips and photos to their audience for up to $50 a month.

  • CEO fired after being caught on camera mocking boy for wearing a dress to prom

    ‘I think clothing should just be taken as a piece of cloth and nothing more,’ says Stevens

  • ‘Aggressive’ bee attack kills one, sends another to the hospital, Texas officials say

    “First responders were faced with the daunting task of patient care and treatment during the attack.”

  • BBC breaks rank over Boris Johnson comments – but is it being used as a pawn in a revenge game?

    It was a subtle yet significant shift in the way the BBC and ITV report political stories. The state broadcaster and its commercial rival would ordinarily shy away from confirming newspaper reports that had been categorically denied by Downing Street. Yet in the case of Boris Johnson allegedly declaring that he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than order a third lockdown, both appear to have made an intriguing exception. On Monday, the Prime Minister completely rebuffed claims he had made the controversial remark last autumn after agreeing to a second lockdown – answering “no” when asked if he uttered the comment. It came after he had earlier branded the reports “total, total rubbish”. Yet that did not stop both the BBC and ITV leading their evening news bulletins by citing sources who contradicted the rebuttal of the high-vis jacket-wearing PM, pictured below.

  • Thai Princess Shuts Down Koh Samui Beach For Private Vacation as COVID Surges

    Pascal Le Segretain / Getty ImagesIt’s a lovely time of year in Thailand, and Princess Sirivannavari, daughter of the unpredictable King Maha Vajiralongkorn, is determined to enjoy it.With less than impeccable timing, Sirivannavari has decided it’s time for a diving vacation.King of Thailand Allegedly Ruling His Nation From German Ski Resort With a Retinue of ConcubinesHer alleged jaunt to the island paradise of Koh Samui comes as the country reels under a virulent third wave of the coronavirus, a disastrous vaccine rollout marred by cronyism, a complete shutdown of the pivotal international tourist trade, and a political crisis that has resulted in a jailed anti-monarchy and pro-democracy campaigner being desperately ill after a 42-day hunger strike.Most of the kingdom is tightening travel restrictions and imposing quarantine requirements, but Sirivannavari has been gaily sharing images from the holiday on her private Instagram account, which have been published by subscription newsletter Secret Siam.Secret Siam, which has become a go-to source for those interested in the day to day abuses of power by Thailand’s elite, is authored by Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a former Reuters bureau chief in Bangkok, who is free to quote his Thai sources without fear of the country’s draconian censorship laws as he no longer lives in Asia.MacGregor Marshall says that orange flags bearing Sirivannavari’s royal crest have been raised around the island and that there is a heavy security presence with five naval vessels anchored off local beauty spot Crystal Bay. Sail Rock, between Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, widely regarded as the best dive site in the Gulf of Thailand, has been completely closed to all other boats, with local diving companies told to stay away during her trip.MacGregor Marshall suggests that Sirivannavari’s holiday may be to celebrate the publication of her latest book, The Princess’ Dog Diary 2, about her beloved Yorkshire terrier Perfume, which was launched at the Mandarin Oriental on April 17.The behavior is wearyingly familiar to observers of the corrupt Thai royal family: a trip to Phuket and surrounding islands with a large entourage of high-society friends at New Year in 2020 caused chaos with fishing boats, ferries, and tourist cruises banned from large swaths of the ocean.The Thai royal family does not typically respond to press inquiries but a request for comment was sent to the Thai embassy in London. In comparison with her father’s peccadilloes, Sirivannavari’s vacation habits are small beer. The king’s transgressions include bigamy, allegedly breaking his sisters’ ankles by jumping on her legs when she complained about the bigamy, maintaining a harem of 20 concubines in Germany, building up an extraordinary fleet of 38 jets and helicopters for the exclusive use of the Thai royal family, and expropriating the country’s $30 billion sovereign wealth fund for his personal use, making him the world’s richest monarch.A video leaked on the internet of a birthday party being held—in Caligula-esque style—on behalf of his dog, a white poodle named Foo Foo, gave global insight into the king’s unorthodox lifestyle. The video, which the Thai authorities have never been able to fully suppress, shows his then-wife, Princess Srirasmi, wearing a G-string and feeding cake to the dog as courtiers crawl on the floor around them. Foo Foo was also the unintended star of a 2007 reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador Ralph “Skip” Boyce. “Foo Foo was... dressed in formal evening attire complete with paw mitts, and at one point during the band’s second number, he jumped up onto the head table and began lapping from the guests’ water glasses,” Boyce wrote, according to a WikiLeaks document.Another note written by the U.S. ambassador to Thailand in 2009, Eric John, and published in the Wikileaks cable dump, stated: “Vajiralongkorn is believed to be suffering from a blood-related medical condition (varying sources claim he is either: HIV-positive; has hepatitis C; is afflicted by a rare form of ‘blood cancer’ or some combination which leads to regular blood transfusions).”The Thai authorities have never commented on the allegations.Even with the high bar of her father’s eccentricities, the princess’ high-handed insistence on ordering large areas of the sea to be closed so she can enjoy herself far from the prying eyes of commoners cannot help but mark a sharp contrast to the devastation sweeping the country. Having successfully managed the first wave of the pandemic with relatively few cases, Thailand has been hit hard by a new wave of coronavirus.There were 2,048 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, and 8 deaths, local media reported.The country has stumbled badly on vaccines, with the government handing the contract for domestic production of 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to a royal-owned company, Siam Bioscience, in an attempt to boost the royal family’s popularity. The results have been a predictably slow rollout of vaccines. This has not stopped the royalist Prime Minister, and leader of Thailand’s 2014 coup, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, from praising the palace and promoting royal propaganda on live TV addresses.Pushing back is dangerous: Thai police on Tuesday charged banned opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit with defaming the monarchy after he said the government had mishandled the vaccine campaign and had given an unfair advantage to the king’s company on a Facebook live stream.Juangroongruangkit is just the latest to fall afoul of strict laws preventing direct criticism of the monarch, his household, and even his pets.Last year there was a mood of open defiance and a series of student-led protests unnerved the government. Opponents of the commanding position and privilege of the Thai royal family were briefly emboldened as rallies by student protesters against the establishment grew.However, the leaders of the protests were subsequently rounded up and jailed, most notably Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak.Chiwarak has now been on a hunger strike for more than 42 days.In recent court appearances, Chiwarak has been extremely weak and used a wheelchair.When Princess Sirivannavari returns from her vacation, it is believed her attention will turn to her horses as part of her ongoing campaign to represent Thailand in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Europe to set a global vaccine passport standard

    Europe seems poised to set the global standard for vaccine passports, now that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has signaled that vaccinated Americans will be allowed to travel to the continent this summer.Why it matters: Opening up travel to vaccinated Americans will bring new urgency to creating some kind of trusted means for people to prove they've been vaccinated.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.The big picture: There will probably never be a single credential that most people use to prove they've been vaccinated, for every purpose.But the EU's system will help set a standard for a proof of vaccination that's both easily accessible and difficult to forge.The U.S. is being closely consulted on the European passport, so any future American system will likely use similar protocols.Details: Informal mechanisms like simply asking someone whether they're had a shot can suffice in many situations. A system for international travel will likely be far more stringent. And there's a wide middle, too.Other activities that don't need the same rigorous standards as international travel could rely on the CDC's vaccination cards; options like a printed QR code, similar to what's been proposed by PathCheck; or a digital QR code, like the ones created by CommonPass or the Vaccine Credential Initiative.There may be some state-issued credentials, like the Excelsior Pass in New York.A national credential is theoretically possible, and could be linked to the biometric information that already exists on many chipped passports — the World Health Organization is working with Estonia to develop something along those lines — but that would meet steep political resistance in the U.S.The bottom line: The world of vaccine passports is almost certainly going to end up as a mishmash of different credentials for different activities, rather than a single credential used by everybody for everything. Go deeper: Americans will likely have to navigate a maze of vaccine "passports"More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Five things to know about Apple's iOS update

    New update includes new privacy features, emojis and a way of turning on an iPhone with a mask on.

  • MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell claimed in a lawsuit against the Daily Mail that churches are disassociating with him because the tabloid reported he had a secret romance with Jane Krakowski

    Both Lindell and Krakowski denied a Daily Mail report that he had a "secret nine-month romance" with the "30 Rock" star.

  • Albania's Socialists win election, gain 3rd straight mandate

    Albania’s left-wing Socialist Party has secured its third consecutive mandate in a parliamentary election, winning nearly one in two votes and enough seats in parliament to govern alone, electoral authorities said on Tuesday. The Central Election Commission said that with 98% of the ballots from Sunday's voting counted, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists had won 49% of the vote and 74 of parliament's 140 seats. The main opposition center-right Democratic Party got 39% of the ballots and 59 seats.

  • Lawmakers, defense officials joust over next-gen ICBM plans

    The war over a next-gen ICBM flared up at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

  • Driver with a suspended license accused of killing a Miami-Dade teen in a hit-and-run

    A Miramar man has been charged with slamming his Mercedes into bicycle rider Derek Betancourt, then leaving the teen for dead on a busy Northwest Miami-Dade street last year.