A United States Attorney recently announced that an alleged Chinatown crime boss has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for his involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and prostitution related criminal activities.The U.S. Attorney said in a statement that the defendant, Wei Xing Chen, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to the following charges:
- money-laundering;
- inducing travel for the purpose of prostitution;
- conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and benzylpiperazine (BZP), both are forms of the street drug ecstacy;
- and possession with intent to distribute BZP.
The defendant was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 70 months in prison, with two subsequent years of supervised release, an additional $1,000 fine, and forfeiture of his Mercedes and $8,000 in cash.
The U.S. Attorney further reported that a co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty last November to his involvement in the prostitution ring, and was sentenced to two years of probation including six months of home detention.
In a separate sworn statement, the government revealed that the two defendants were among 26 individuals initially indicted in 2011, following a long term FBI investigation into organized crime within Chinatown. In addition to the indictments, government officials also seized 13 guns, $340,000 in cash, and nearly 13,000 of what they believed to be oxycodone pills, in addition to “extensive evidence” of prostitution and illegal gambling.
Government officials believe that the defendant worked with his co-conspirators over an 18 month period to draw mostly Asian women to Massachusetts to work as prostitutes in brothels in Allston and Cambridge. The defendants made travel arrangements, which culminated in meeting the women at the relevant end destination before transporting them to the brothels.
The conspiracy also involved placing of newspaper advertisements offering prostitution and other services, in addition to laundering of money collected from the brothels.
Chen was also allegedly involved in a group that sold about 2,400 pills to an FBI cooperating witness.
Among the crimes that this defendant pleaded to, since he was allegedly part of a large conspiracy criminal organization, the charges most likely to apply to the typical individual in Massachusetts facing criminal accusations, are probably the drug charges.
More specifically is one of those crimes, possession with intent to distribute. Massachusetts law separates the crime into separate categories for marijuana, cocaine and heroin and other illegal narcotics based on their drug class distinction, and with corresponding individualized penalties for each.
Crimes involving possession or possession with intent to distribute may potentially have several defenses available, depending upon the circumstances of your case. These defenses include things such as: police entrapment, illegal search and seizure, lack of knowledge of the drugs, lack of the requisite intent, violation of Miranda Rights, and more. To find how your drug arrest can be challenged, contact an experienced Boston Drug Crime Defense Attorney immediately.
If you have been accused of prostitution or drug crimes within the state of Massachusetts, you will want to ensure that you have an aggressive, knowledgeable, and experienced Boston defense attorney on your side. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. Murphy, Esq. today in order to schedule your free and confidential legal consultation. You can contact us by calling 617-367-0450 or through our website.
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